Let the Dream Begin-REWRITTEN
by fanwriter1245
Summary: NEW AND IMPROVED VERSION! Elaina LaPointe finds herself kidnapped by the infamous Opera Ghost after interfering one too many times with his plans. Though initially angry and afraid, Elaina eventually sees that the Phantom is simply a lonely man longing for acceptance. The longer she spends with him, the more she realizes she just may be falling for him. ErikxOC
1. Hannibal

**To returning readers, welcome back! To new readers, you're in for a treat!**

**I first wrote and published this story back in the summer of 2014, and while it has remained one of my favorite stories and people seem to like it as I keep getting emails that it's been favorited, the writing most certainly did NOT age well...**

**About a year ago, I received an incredible critique review from 'thesoulobeys', and I got to thinking about how I could improve this story. After nearly five years, I decided to do an intensive rewrite to make the characters and situations a heck of a lot more realistic and believable.**

**This was the first rewrite I've ever done, and it was so much fun to edit everything and see how far I've come as a writer.**

**As before, this story is combined movie/musical, but leaning more towards the original musical production.**

**I hope that all my fellow Phans enjoy! :)**

* * *

Elaina LaPointe was a very talented singer.

Which would've been wonderful if anyone knew it.

The 26-year-old woman had been put in ensemble all her life and never once had even one little solo line. While she always wanted a lead and she would be lying if she said she wasn't rather jealous of the women who had complete arias to themselves, she was nevertheless proud to be part of the Opera Populaire.

She had been taking singing lessons for the past few years with Monsieur Reyer which had to be given in secret lest the other girls find out and also ask for lessons.

Unfortunately, despite the hours of practice, Monsieur Reyer still preferred Carlotta over her. He and the manager gave her all the leads in every opera while Elaina remained part of the forgettable chorus.

Elaina couldn't deny that Carlotta was an extremely talented opera singer, but she was also the most insufferable person she had ever had the misfortune of working with. Because so many people worshiped the ground she walked on, she believed she was God's gift to earth and threw an absolute fit when things didn't go her way. But Elaina supposed on the business side of things, Carlotta's voice was what helped sell tickets and keep the Populaire running. It wasn't fair, but when was life ever fair?

The company was currently rehearsing for the new production _Hannibal_ which was opening that night. So far, it was average at best and the entire cast had a lot to do in a few hours. Elaina's feet were throbbing from doing the long and grueling dance numbers over and over again in order to please Madame Giry, the dance instructor. The woman always had very high standards that were difficult to please and with the premiere of the production mere hours away, she was stricter than ever.

Backstage preparing for her entrance, Elaina listened to Carlotta sing the operatic notes and desperately wished that it was her out there performing as Elissa instead. She knew all of the lines by heart and could easily hit each and every note.

Carlotta ended on an especially high note, and the dancers entered to begin their portion. Elaina's feet moved in perfect rhythm on the wooden stage with the rest of the girls. While she was not a bad dancer, she certainly didn't stand out among the girls. She could admit that her skill rested in singing much more than dancing, but until she earned the right to be a lead, she would give her best as a dancer.

As her feet and legs started to ache even more, she could feel Madame Giry watching their every move, ready to nitpick the slightest thing that any of them did wrong.

When the number was finally finished for the umpteenth time (with many errors continually made and more of Carlotta's quite loud complaints gracing everyone's ears), their manager, Monsieur Lefevre, came in and stopped their rehearsal. Elaina noticed two men with him that she had never seen before.

"Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please?" Monsieur Lefevre announced. "As you know, for some weeks there have been rumors of my imminent retirement. I can now tell you that these were all true, and it is my pleasure to introduce to you the two gentlemen who now own the Opera Populaire: Monsieur Richard Firmin and Monsieur Gilles Andre."

Everyone applauded for them, but Elaina did so half-heartedly. Even if their current manager did favor Carlotta, she still liked him and she was saddened to hear that he was indeed leaving. He was very kind and had previous stage experience so he knew exactly how to run the place. And most importantly, he knew how to deal with the so-called Opera Ghost.

She just hoped the new managers handled everything the same way he did. If they didn't, the peace they had been graced with would quickly stop if the Opera Ghost decided to terrorize them assuming he even existed.

While Elaina told people she didn't believe in the Ghost since she couldn't bring herself to admit to a supernatural being hiding around the theater, she also couldn't help but wonder why it felt like the cast was always being watched, or why there was that slight movement in the shadows that could've been her eyes playing with her, or why Madame Giry seemed nervous when something went dreadfully wrong during rehearsals, or why she would occasionally catch a flash of black in Box Five.

Elaina quickly expelled all thoughts of a figure who may or may not exist out of her mind and listened to her new managers. Maybe with the Populaire under new management, her chance at earning a lead was within her grasp.

"Gentlemen, Signora Carlotta Giudicelli, our leading soprano for five seasons now," Monsieur Lefevre introduced.

The one called Andre fervently shook her hand, treating her like the diva she was. "Of course, of course! I have experienced all your greatest roles, Signora."

Monsieur Lefevre turned to their leading tenor, a very stout man also known to be Carlotta's lover. "And Signor Ubaldo Piangi."

"An honor, Signor," Firmin said politely.

Andre smiled. "If I remember rightly, Elissa has a rather fine aria in Act Three of _Hannibal_," he said. "I wonder, Signora, if, as a personal favor, you would oblige us with a private rendition? Unless, of course, Monsieur Reyer objects…"

"My manager commands," Carlotta smiled. Without looking at the conductor, she snapped, "Monsieur Reyer?"

"My diva commands," Monsieur Reyer smiled. "Will two bars be sufficient introduction?"

"Two bars will be quite sufficient," Firmin answered.

Carlotta clapped her hands demandingly and Monsieur Reyer went over to the piano to begin the song, _Think of Me_. It was Elaina's favorite song in the opera and she sometimes used it to warm up before rehearsals when no one was listening.

"Signora?" Monsieur Reyer said to Carlotta to ensure she was ready.

"Maestro."

Carlotta began the song and really, _really_ milked it up for the new managers.

Elaina discreetly rolled her eyes. She wondered if it would be better if Carlotta was sweet and humble but decided it was much easier to dislike her the way she was.

Suddenly, right in the middle of her verse, a huge backdrop fell right on top of Carlotta which sent her to the ground. The chorus girls squealed in fear and quickly grabbed onto one another as if that would somehow protect them. Piangi frantically ran over to the woman and helped her off the ground as she began to shout and curse in Italian.

"He's there, the Phantom of the Opera!" she heard one of the chorus girls exclaim.

It turned out to be Meg, the talented daughter of Madame Giry. She tightly gripped her friend, Christine's, hand as they looked up to see how the backdrop had fallen.

"Signora!" Monsieur Lefevre shouted amidst the excitement. "Are you all right? Buquet! Where is Buquet? Get that man down here!" He turned to look at Firmin and Andre. "Chief of the flies. He's responsible for this." He looked back up to the rafters. "Buquet! For God's sake, man, what's going on up there?"

Joseph Buquet, the stagehand who spent more time in the rafters than on the ground, came down and pleaded with them all, "Please monsieur, don't look at me! As God's my witness, I was not at my post! Please monsieur, there's no one there! And if there is, well then, it must be a ghost!"

The word 'ghost' sent all the chorus girls into screaming fits once again. Elaina scoffed and wished they would all just calm down and think rationally. She was sure there was a perfectly sound explanation for why the backdrop fell. Buquet was probably careless and blamed it on the Opera Ghost to save his skin. That was much more realistic than an imaginary being causing chaos for no apparent reason.

Meg looked up in fear. "He's there. The Phantom of the Opera."

"Good heavens!" Andre exclaimed. "Will you show a little courtesy?"

"Mademoiselle, please!" Firmin added.

Andre went over to Carlotta and calmly said to her, "These things do happen."

She looked at him angrily, as if shocked he would even have the nerve to try to pretend that what had just happened was no big deal. "_Si_, these things do happen. Well, until you stop these things from happening, this thing does not happen! Ubaldo, _andiamo_!"

Carlotta left in an overdramatic huff true to her character while Piangi went over to all three managers and said one word: "Amateurs!"

Monsieur Lefevre had had enough. "Well, I don't think there's much more I can do to assist you. Good luck. If you need me, I shall be in Frankfurt!"

He left just as fast as Carlotta, done with the Opera forever. Elaina was fairly certain that he only wanted to be done with the stress and anxiety of dealing with that woman rather than opera itself.

Elaina put a hand to her forehead as she sighed.

This was not good at all. The opera was set to open in just a few hours and they had now lost their leading soprano. They couldn't be in a worse situation if they tried.

"La Carlotta will be back," Andre tried to assure everyone though it was clear he didn't entirely believe his own words.

"You think so, messieurs?" Madame Giry said. "I have a message, sir, from the Opera Ghost."

"God in heaven, you're all obsessed!" Firmin exclaimed in exasperation.

The cast members started quietly whispering to each other, wondering if it really was the Opera Ghost or simply someone's attempt at scaring everyone.

"He merely welcomes you to his Opera House and commands you to continue to leave Box Five empty for his use and reminds you that his salary is due."

"His salary?!"

"Monsieur Lefevre paid him twenty thousand francs a month. Perhaps you can afford more with the Vicomte de Chagny as your patron."

The chorus girls gasped, shocked that someone so rich and handsome was now supporting the opera. At least two of them immediately began envisioning him proposing marriage.

"Madame, I had hoped to have made that announcement myself!" Andre said angrily.

"Will the Vicomte be at the performance tonight, monsieur?" Madame Giry asked, dismissing his complaints.

"In our box," Firmin answered.

"Madame, who is the understudy for this role?" Andre asked, hoping to rectify the whole situation. It wouldn't do to have the whole production go down in flames on their first day.

"There is no understudy, monsieur!" Monsieur Reyer answered sharply. "The production is new!" As if struck by an epiphany, his eyes brightened a little. "There is one possibility. I believe that Elaina LaPointe can do the role."

Elaina froze and her heart skipped a beat. Had she heard wrong or was Monsieur Reyer actually offering her the role of Elissa?

By the sound of the scoffs and the disapproving looks from the rest of the cast, she had indeed heard correctly.

"A chorus girl?" Firmin asked.

"She has been taking singing lessons for quite some time and knows the role well. I believe she could very well take over for La Carlotta, at least for this performance."

"Well, let's hear you," Andre said with a sigh, clearly not expecting very much from her.

"Come, Elaina," Monsieur Reyer said to her taking her hand and bringing her forward. "Sing a couple bars of _Think of Me_." He pulled her close and said quietly so only she could hear, "We've worked on this song many times. Please do not disappoint me now."

He went over to the piano and began to play the song. Elaina took a deep breath, suddenly aware of everyone's eyes piercing through her to stare directly inside her soul. She attempted to block them out and imagined singing the song in private as she had many times before:

_Think of me_

_Think of me fondly when we've said good-bye_

_Remember me once in a while _

_Please promise me you'll try_

_When you find that once again you long_

_To take your heart back and be free_

_If you ever find a moment_

_Spare a thought for me_

Elaina finished what was asked of her and the small crowd around her burst into applause causing her spirits to begin soaring high above the clouds.

"That was splendid, mademoiselle!" Andre praised.

"_Magnifique_!" Firmin added.

Elaina was ecstatic. They liked her. Everyone actually liked her. After so many years of wishful dreaming, she finally had the lead role in an opera.

But she didn't know that someone watched her from the rafters with hate and loathing.

How had his plan gone so wrong?! After the simple task of making Carlotta quit, they were supposed to pick Christine, not this Elaina girl! She wasn't that talented! She most certainly did not have the angelic voice his Christine did! This was supposed to be _his _student's moment!

He needed to fix this and fast. The opera was opening in just a few hours, and it was up to him to make sure that this girl knew her place.

The costumers took Elaina to Carlotta's old dressing room and adjusted all of Carlotta's costumes to fit her tiny figure. Then Madame Giry and Monsieur Reyer shoved her back to rehearsal to run through the show as quickly as they could with Elaina as the new Elissa.

Being the lead was everything she always dreamed and she enjoyed every second of the fame that came with it. She tried to remain humble, not wanting to turn into Carlotta, but it certainly proved difficult as people finally began to appreciate her voice and realize her talent.

What was a little strange was Meg's seemingly cold looks. While it was true that most people in the cast didn't really care for her, neither Meg nor Christine had ever joined in on their snide remarks and constant glares.

Elaina knew that Meg was known for her beautiful dancing. In fact, she was the Opera's best dancer which made sense as she was the ballet instructor's daughter. The looks surely couldn't be because she wanted the role. But then…what had she done to make her so upset?

And for that matter, why did Madame Giry look so uncharacteristically nervous?

A couple hours before the opening of the opera, Elaina sat in her large dressing room warming up and putting on her full costume.

The nerves had begun to set in. In just a few minutes, she was going to be singing a lot of rather difficult songs in front of hundreds of people. An honor, no doubt, but also terrifying. If they didn't like her, or if she made even the slightest mistake, it could seriously hurt her career and the Opera House as a whole. It was a lot of pressure to put on one person. Maybe the only reason Carlotta was able to handle the pressure was by developing her horrible disposition. Elaina wondered what she had been like before she got so well-known.

She sat down in front of her mirror and began to powder her very nervous face. She looked down for just a second to put down the powder and when she looked up, she gasped at the sight of a man towering behind her. His gloved hand slipped over her mouth as she tried to scream.

A pure white mask covered the right side of his face which stood out against his black clothes and dark slicked-back hair.

"If you're wise, you will not go out on that stage tonight," he whispered harshly in her ear. "That part was meant for Christine, you impertinent girl. I didn't work so hard to get Carlotta out just so that you could steal the limelight from her. She deserves the role more than you ever will."

In a flash, he was gone just as quickly as he had appeared. Elaina whipped around to see where he had gone, but the room was completely empty as if he had never been in there at all.

Elaina took trembling breaths as she tried to slow her racing heart. When she looked down at her hands, she found that they were shaking.

Was that…the infamous Opera Ghost?

He…he was real?

No, he wasn't a ghost at all. That person was very much a man. How was that possible? Where did he come from? Where did he live?

And why was it so bad that she had replaced Carlotta? Why did he want Christine to have the role so much? Did he personally know her? Did Christine really have that good of a voice? Had he truly orchestrated Carlotta quitting for the sole purpose of giving her part to Christine?

Elaina sighed heavily as she tried to decide what to do. She could refuse to sing tonight despite her dream coming true. She had to admit that she was rather terrified of what the Opera Ghost might do to her if she went out instead of Christine.

But on the other hand, a lot of people were counting on her tonight and it would be terrible for everyone, especially her, if she announced she couldn't perform just a few minutes before the curtain rose. They would never give her a lead role again.

She had never heard of the Opera Ghost seriously harming anyone the entire time she'd been at the Populaire. Besides, he was only a man. What was the worst he could do to her? Make a backdrop fall on her? She still wouldn't storm out like Carlotta who hadn't even been hurt in the slightest. Not when her dream was finally in her grasp.

She was sure that she wanted this more than Christine did. She wanted this more than anything in the entire world.

The best solution was to ensure that she was never alone. The Opera Ghost wouldn't do anything directly to her in the presence of someone else…she hoped.

Choosing to keep the Opera Ghost's threat a secret, she exited the room and headed backstage to prepare for her first entrance.

Elaina sang with full confidence as she performed, but she could not stop her eyes from traveling to the rafters every now and again to see any shadows lurking about that might decide to send a backdrop or a prop hurling down at her. She tried to make it look natural and only hoped no one noticed.

To her delight, she was well-received by the audience throughout the production. Being in the limelight was everything she had ever wanted. It felt so wonderful to sing to her heart's content for people's pleasure. There was nothing quite like this euphoric feeling.

As the night concluded, she returned to her dressing room completely ecstatic. Her throat was unbelievably sore, unused to straining so much for so long, but she didn't even care. Nothing could bring her down from this moment.

Unfortunately for her, mere feet away from her were the same hate-filled eyes from before burning holes into her through the one-way mirror. How _dare_ this girl disobey his orders! She thought herself important enough to disobey the Opera Ghost?!

She would pay for this.

As if aware someone was watching her, Elaina stepped towards the mirror in the dressing room. She lightly pressed her hand to the glass, oblivious that someone was on the other side only inches from her.

He envisioned himself reaching through the mirror and tightening his hand around her skinny little neck, but that brought about the possibility of making things worse. If the lead was found dead in her dressing room strangled to death, the opera might get put on hold in which case his Christine would never get her spot on stage like she deserved.

He would have to go about this carefully. He would make sure that his Christine sang as Elissa tomorrow night and that this insolent girl knew he was not to be trifled with.

* * *

During a short touch-up rehearsal before the second night of _Hannibal_, Elaina attempted to fix some of the things she had done wrong the previous night. No one blamed her for her mistakes due to her taking the role on such short notice, but they wanted to make her performance the best it could be.

She was more than a little on edge about the Opera Ghost's threat, but he hadn't done anything when she performed nor had she seen anything in the shadows since his appearance, so maybe he had only been trying to scare her.

Just as she thought that, someone bumped into her causing her to trip on her large dress and tumble down onto the stage.

"Mademoiselle, are you all right?!" Monsieur Reyer exclaimed as he rushed to her side. "What on earth happened?"

"Forgive me!" one of the ballet girls quickly apologized. "Something pushed me!"

The Opera Ghost. Elaina knew he was responsible. It was too convenient.

She looked over behind the group of ballet girls, but she could see nothing to support her claims. The Opera Ghost was not called a ghost for nothing.

Monsieur Reyer helped Elaina stand again.

"Ow!" she exclaimed as she bent over.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I…I'm fine."

She attempted to return to her mark on the stage, but she could barely take one step before she nearly fell again. She let out another cry of pain as Monsieur Reyer quickly caught her.

"Someone get a chair!" he ordered.

One of the tenors quickly brought a small chair over and Elaina sat down.

This was bad.

Madame Giry strutted over and knelt down to examine Elaina's ankle.

She winced when the dance instructor hit a particularly sore spot.

"It's not broken, but I'm afraid it's sprained," she announced. "A few days off it and you'll be just fine."

"A few days?" Elaina whispered in horror. "No, no, I'm fine! I…I can still perform!"

"You will be doing nothing of the sort. You cannot even stand right now."

"Yes, I can!"

She tried to stand up but immediately winced in pain and had to sit down again.

"This cannot be!" Monsieur Reyer moaned. "We cannot possibly find yet another lead in such a short amount of time! The managers will be furious!"

"Christine Daaé could sing it, sir!" Meg said quickly, stepping forward with her brunette friend.

Elaina's heart plummeted.

"She's been taking lessons from a great teacher!"

"Who?"

Christine nervously fiddled with her hands. "I don't know, sir."

Madame Giry looked up. "Let her sing for you, monsieur. She has been well taught."

Monsieur Reyer sighed. "I suppose I don't have a choice. Come, my dear, let's hear you sing a few bars."

Christine looked over at Elaina apologetically before stepping to the front of the stage.

Madame Giry helped Elaina off the chair, supporting her so she didn't walk on her weak ankle.

As Elaina limped offstage, Christine sang _Think of Me_ behind her with a more angelic voice than Elaina had expected for someone so young. No doubt the role was going to go to her.

She had lost the opportunity of a lifetime, maybe forever.

"Don't despair, dear," Madame Giry told her. "Things will work out, I assure you."

Elaina could feel tears forming in her eyes as they reached the girls' dormitory. "I wanted this so much, Madame…"

"I know. I will do what I can to see if you can continue performing as a singer rather than a dancer once you have healed."

"What's the point? Maybe I was just not meant to be the lead."

"You have talent, Elaina. One of these days, you'll be able to put it to use. I must go inform the managers of the change in plans, though I'm sure they won't be very pleased. But there's no helping it. Rest in here for tonight and we'll see how you're doing tomorrow."

Madame Giry left, and Elaina allowed her tears to fall.

Her one dream, the only dream she had ever had, had been ripped violently out of her grasp.

It wasn't fair. It just wasn't fair.

Her anger completely overshadowed her fear of the Opera Ghost, and she wanted to know why she wasn't good enough and why he had sabotaged her.

She was going to find that Phantom if it was the last thing she did.


	2. Kidnapped

It didn't take long for news of Christine's stunning success to reach Elaina's ears. People complimented the young soprano more than they ever had her.

Was Christine really that good of a singer? Maybe it was because she was younger and still managed to have a gorgeous voice. It was one thing for a 26-year-old to sing beautifully, but it was another thing for a 17-year-old to sing just as beautifully if not more so.

As if it wasn't bad enough that Elaina had lost the lead, now people were going to forever compare her to Christine. She would be lucky if she ever earned the main role in an opera again now that Christine's talent was known.

Just when she had thought things were finally starting to work in her favor…

When Elaina saw Christine the next night before their next performance, she looked quite pale and almost seemed ill. Something must've happened to her between the performance last night and this morning. What it was, no one would ever know except her.

Elaina had no doubt that the Opera Ghost was behind it all. He was the only one who could make a person look so frail with fear.

But it didn't make any sense. Christine had the role like he wanted. What could he possibly have a problem with now that he would hurt her in such a way? Would the man never be satisfied?

While the rest of the cast was busy performing their third show, Elaina quietly snuck up to the rafters, ignoring the pain in her ankle. A little extra pain now would be worth it in the end if she got answers. She had changed to a light ballet dress that would not make any noise when she moved and remained barefoot so as to keep her steps silent. That and she currently could not wear shoes due to her still-swollen foot.

Careful to avoid the perverted eyes of Joseph Buquet, she hoped to find the Phantom up here watching the performance or at least gain a clue on how to find where he lived. She knew it was a stretch, but it was currently all she had to go on.

She looked around as she carefully stepped on the catwalk high above the stage. It was a long way down and it made her hands a bit clammy. One wrong step and it was all over for her.

A sudden twinge in her ankle caused her to trip on some rope. Her heart nearly leapt out of her throat as her foot got stuck and she tumbled over the edge. The rope held her foot, and her dress didn't flip over her head for which she would be eternally grateful. While she had managed to fall just barely out of view of the audience, she was also stuck. She couldn't just interrupt the performance and yell for help. Not only would that be very embarrassing, but the managers would be furious. Performers were definitely not supposed to be on the catwalk, and she was sure everyone would accuse her of intentionally ruining Christine's performance out of jealousy.

Her attempts to pull herself up failed miserably since the position she was in made it impossible for her to do anything herself.

She was about to give up and face the managers' wrath when she felt a hand on her leg and then on her waist as someone pulled her back up onto the catwalk. She was about to express her thanks when she saw that her savior was the Phantom!

Before she could cry out, he took her wrist roughly and pulled her through a secret passageway.

"Let me go!" she cried as she tried to pull away.

He practically sprinted down the passageway, his grip so fierce on her wrist that she worried he might break it.

"I am not going to let you ruin Christine's performance yet again!" he snapped without looking back at her.

Elaina was terrified for her life. She had already upset the Phantom twice! What was going to happen now that she had done it again?

"Please, it hurts!"

Her sprained ankle begged her to stop moving, but the Phantom never slowed his pace and his tight grip on her forced her to keep up with him which required both feet.

The mysterious Phantom kept pulling her down and down, ignoring all her cries of pain, until they eventually reached an underground lake. He threw her into a gondola and furiously pushed it along the narrow waterway. Elaina considered jumping out, but she wouldn't get anywhere with her ankle in such terrible shape. All she could focus on for the boat ride that seemed to last a lifetime was the immense pain in her swollen ankle and the fear that she might be killed in the next few minutes.

The Phantom pushed the gondola through a portcullis, and her heart sank when it came down as soon as they were through, blocking off all possible exit.

She looked around where he had taken her, trying to find some other way to get out of this place. There were candles everywhere, creating a rather eerie ambiance with the various shadows they cast, and a large organ in the middle of the room.

Sheet music was strewn about everywhere. No doubt he was a composer.

And apparently a kidnapper as well.

He forced Elaina out of the gondola and threw her on the floor of the lair. She winced as her ankle throbbed painfully.

"Why have you brought me here?" she asked desperately.

"I warned you that you were not to go out on that stage!"

"I'm sorry! I…I won't interfere again! Please let me go!"

When the Phantom turned his back to her, she ran through the lake over to the portcullis. The water slowed her down but she still managed to make it over to the iron gate before he could stop her despite the stabbing pain in her ankle.

"Help!" she screamed. "Someone please help me!"

Her screams were cut off as the Phantom's gloved hand slid over her mouth again and his arm slipped around her waist. Amidst her frantic struggling and kicking, he dragged her out of the water and into a small room. Once inside, he again threw her to the floor.

Tears began to stream down Elaina's face both from the fear of what he was going to do to her and from the sharp pain she had been experiencing for the last twenty minutes.

The Phantom took his infamous Punjab Lasso out from the belt hidden under his cape.

It was in the shape of a noose.

"Please, don't!" she pleaded.

But the Phantom didn't put the loop around her neck like she thought he was going to. Instead he grabbed her wrists and forced them behind her. He then put the loop around them and tightened it to the point where she couldn't get out before taking the rest of the rope and tying it to the end of the swan bed in the room.

"Why are you doing this to me?" Elaina cried.

The Phantom left the room without a single word.

The young woman began to sob. She was scared and in pain. First, she had to give up the starring role due to a painful injury, then she had to listen to everyone constantly praise Christine's talent, and now she had been kidnapped by the infamous Opera Ghost for no other reason than that she wasn't the oh-so-perfect Christine.

All those times she had questioned if her mind was playing tricks on her or if the stories about a mysterious being who lived under the Populaire were true, he had been watching all along. He was always watching.

Elaina pleaded to be released for at least an hour, but her cries fell on deaf ears if he was even there. It was quite possible he had left to terrorize some other poor soul.

The longer she remained tied up, the more the adrenaline began to fade leaving her exhausted.

She was afraid the Phantom would come in and kill her while she slept, though that almost seemed like the preferable option at the moment. Maybe he would be decent enough to make it quick.

Exhaustion overwhelmed her and she couldn't help dozing off.

She soon awoke to her legs cramped and her back aching. It still felt late, but she had no way of knowing. She was beneath the world above and all light was artificial.

She moved her wrists and winced when she realized they were starting to turn raw from the rope.

But she was still alive. That had to be a good sign.

"Hello?" she called out. "Are you here?"

Still no response.

It was at least another hour before she heard footsteps.

Her breathing quickened as the Phantom slowly entered the room and stood over her, looking more menacing and frightening than ever.

"Are you going to kill me?" she asked softly, looking away from him.

After a very long pause, he finally answered, "No. If I wanted to kill you, you'd be dead by now."

"Then why am I here?"

"This is the only way I could ensure that you would not interfere with my student's success. Not only did you steal the role from her, but you almost ruined her performance last night."

"I'm sorry."

"Of course you are now because you are here instead of onstage. I doubt you were sorry at all that night."

She couldn't exactly argue against that.

"I…I just wanted to understand," she said. "Why Christine? What was wrong with me?"

"Christine has deserved to be in the limelight for years. Which could only happen once Carlotta was gone. Had Monsieur Reyer not vouched for you, my Christine would've gotten the role at once."

Elaina wanted to argue further, explain that Monsieur Reyer was only doing the same for his own student, but she was afraid what his response might be. She still wasn't so sure he wasn't going to kill her despite what he said.

"You can't keep me down here forever. People will come looking for me," she told him, trying to sound braver than she felt.

"Are you so sure about that? You are a chorus girl whose one moment of fame has been greatly overshadowed. It would not be so unbelievable that you decided to abandon the Populaire out of frustration and jealousy."

"But…"

"Do you even have any close friends here at the opera house?"

Elaina's eyes once again glistened with tears.

Because he was right. She had no friend in any of the other ballet girls, and definitely nothing to keep them from assuming she had indeed run off. Even Monsieur Reyer was more of an instructor than a friend, and she knew that he would believe everything people assumed about her. He always had.

"Besides, I couldn't release you now even if I wanted to," the Phantom continued. "You now know how to find me. I cannot have you leading people down here to capture me."

"If you let me go, I swear, I won't tell anyone about you."

"Please tell me why should I believe you."

"I promise! I won't tell a soul."

"Your word is worth nothing to me."

"But Christine—"

"You are not Christine."

He walked over to her, and Elaina recoiled from him as he got closer to her not that there was anywhere she could go as long as her arms were tied.

"I am not going to harm you," he said not in a softer tone but not as harsh either.

He undid the rope holding Elaina captive. On instinct, she backed away from him.

"You can keep your distance from me as much as you'd like, but you're still going to remain down here. There is no use trying to escape for there is no way for you to do so."

He briskly left the room as she continued to sit on the floor in disbelief.

He had made it clear. She was to spend the rest of her life here trapped with that monster. She would never see the other ballet girls or the city or even sunlight ever again.

Elaina laid her arms on the bed and proceeded to cry into them.

* * *

The Phantom walked into the room a few hours later to find the girl asleep with half of her body on the bed and tear stains caked onto her cheeks.

He hadn't really planned on keeping her down here, but what else was he supposed to do? If she hadn't gone up onto the catwalk and nearly gotten herself killed, she could've remained at the Populaire for the rest of her days as a blissful chorus girl so long as she didn't do anything to harm Christine's career again. It had honestly been a 'heat-of-the-moment' decision, and he had never been the best at making those kinds of decisions…

He could just kill her now and be done with it, but looking at her asleep and more vulnerable than ever, that seemed cruel even for him. And he had always been much more reluctant to take the life of a woman.

His eyes traveled down to her bare feet. Her swollen left ankle glared an angry shade of red.

He felt the smallest twinge of guilt. He had meant for her to hurt herself just enough for her to be unable to perform, but he hadn't intended for it to get this bad.

And he knew that was his own fault for forcing her to run on it as he dragged her down here. She had repeatedly begged him to slow down amidst her cries of pain, but he'd ignored her, completely blinded by his anger against her.

_You don't owe her anything_, he thought to himself. _You don't have to take care of her. It's her own fault to begin with. She's the one who interfered._

He sighed and retrieved a roll of bandages from the lair. Then he knelt down beside her and carefully wrapped her ankle in order to get the swelling to go down.

Thankfully, she didn't awaken. There was no telling what she would do if she saw him so close to her.

He shook his head as he exited the room. What on earth had he gotten himself into?

* * *

Elaina stayed in the room for several days, not daring to leave for fear of incurring the Phantom's anger once more. He would bring her food every day, but she waited until he was gone to eat it. At first, she refused to eat anything as she was afraid he would use the food to drug her or poison her. But she could only starve herself for so long. Eventually, she had no choice but to eat the food he gave her. Her fears were unfounded when she remained unharmed long after she'd eaten.

She didn't know if he was the one cooking the food, but she was surprised to find that it was the best meal she'd had in years. It didn't make sense that he was feeding his prisoner better than they'd fed her as a ballet girl.

True to his word, the Phantom never hurt her. It was rare for him to even appear before her.

His absence and the fact that he provided for her did nothing for her fear of him and what he might do to her.

Though…it hadn't escaped her notice that she had awoken to her sprained ankle bandaged up.

About six days after her initial capture, Elaina finally peeked out of the room to see if the Phantom was there. If he wasn't, she might be able to find an alternative means of escape.

Unfortunately, he was sitting at the organ bench, and she watched for a moment as he played a few notes on the organ and then furiously scribbled them down onto a piece of paper. He wasn't wearing his cape which made him look much less terrifying than usual. In fact, she couldn't help but notice that he actually looked kind of…

"Can you play an instrument, mademoiselle?" he asked suddenly, making Elaina jump a foot in the air.

"Um…" she stuttered at having been caught.

Did he just call her 'mademoiselle'? Since when was he so polite? Especially to her, his captive?

"I can play a little piano."

He got up from the organ bench. "Play," he commanded.

"Oh, no, I'm really not that—"

"Play!"

Elaina flinched at his harsh tone. She slowly walked over to the bench.

He raised an eyebrow when he noticed there was still a barely noticeable limp in her step.

"Okay," she said timidly.

She sat down on the bench and the Phantom walked around to stand on the right side of her, his back to her.

Elaina quickly looked around for something she could use to hit him on the back of the head, but there was nothing heavy enough in the vicinity. She probably wouldn't be strong enough to do any damage anyway.

Besides, she had no idea how to raise the portcullis and she wasn't sure there was any other way for her to get out. Odds were that even if she did manage to knock him out, he would wake up long before she found a way to get back to the surface and he would most likely kill her for injuring him.

That idea failing before it could even begin, Elaina quickly tried to think of a song she knew. She positioned her trembling fingers over the keys to play the simple chord that started the only song she could remember without the sheet music in front of her. But she was so nervous, she could only play several painfully discordant notes.

The Phantom looked over at her at the horrid sound. 'A little' piano was a stretch if this was all she could do. Then her quiet whimpers reached his ears as she pitifully tried to play a song.

Her heart racing, Elaina frantically tried to play the correct chord, but every attempt only ended in an awful sound coming from the organ. She dared not look over at the Phantom, afraid of how he was reacting to her pathetic attempts at playing.

Suddenly, she felt two hands gently touch her own and she flinched again in surprise. The Phantom stood behind her, his hands positioned over hers to keep her own hands from shaking.

"Relax," he said gently in her ear, nothing like the voice he used before. He took his hands off hers and then placed them on her tense shoulders. "Relax," he said again.

Despite the fact that her heart had started to race even more upon him touching her, she allowed her shoulders to loosen enough so that she the rest of her would follow suit and calm down.

"Now play."

Elaina played a small chord, finally the correct one, and then took her left hand off the keys. Her right hand played a simple, haunting melody by itself. The Phantom listened silently.

Though he loved how the melody sounded and it was much better than the disaster she played before, he was admittedly disappointed that this was all she could do.

After a few bars, Elaina put a few chords behind the melody, but it remained a very simple piece. She wasn't kidding when she said she could only play a little.

Then to his shock, the song picked up and her fingers flew across the keys from left to right, hitting nearly every single piano key in an extremely fast tempo. As far as he could tell, she never missed a single note or a chord.

"That was impressive," the Phantom said to her when she finished. "You have quite a talent."

"Thank you, monsieur," Elaina answered quietly.

"Where did you learn to play like that?"

"Um…I spent a lot of time in music halls as a young child. One night when it was rather empty, the pianist offered to teach me a short song to keep me occupied. I guess he enjoyed himself because he taught me a little something every night. I kept playing and practicing as I grew up since I thought it would help me with my singing."

"I may be willing to offer you lessons on your piano skills, if you are interested. It'd be a shame to let a talent like that go to waste."

"If that's what you wish."

"Is it what _you _wish?"

Elaina faltered. It wasn't what she wished at all. What she wished was to go back to her old life at the Populaire. What she wished was to be back performing. What she wished was to not be held captive by a monster.

But it would do well to remain on his good side. Maybe if she gained his favor, she could later convince him to let her go.

"I will gladly take lessons, monsieur," she finally told him.

"Excellent. We start tomorrow."

Her heart thumped in her chest at the idea of having to take lessons and converse extensively with her kidnapper.

It just wasn't fair.


	3. Il Muto

Despite the fear that the Phantom struck into Elaina's heart, she had to begrudgingly admit that he was a very good teacher. He was surprisingly patient with her as he helped her learn to relax her fingers and shoulders while she played especially difficult songs. Since Elaina's fear of him kept her on edge, he repeatedly but calmly berated her for constantly tensing her body.

She had lessons for about an hour nearly every other day. The rest of the time, Elaina confined herself to the bedroom, afraid to be near him any longer than either of them wished.

While it was difficult to take his lessons seriously at first, she slowly found herself accepting his advice and becoming a better pianist.

Her fear of him began to decrease the longer she spent by his side enough so that she didn't dread the hour with him but no so much that she didn't continuously hope to find some means of escape.

One night, several weeks after she had been captured, the Phantom walked into the room very late long after Elaina had fallen asleep. He saw that the girl was lying on the floor, and he didn't think much about it until he noticed the swan bed remained as pristine as the night he had brought her here. In fact, it looked…untouched. Had the girl slept on the floor this entire time?

That would explain why she always looked exhausted and why he kept having to tell her to keep her back straight during her lesson time. It must've been weeks since she'd gotten a good night's sleep.

He still didn't owe her anything, but…

After a moment's thought, he picked her up and gently placed her in the bed. His thoughts traveled back to the time he had done the same for Christine when he had brought her down here. But this girl was not Christine. She was just an inconvenient, unexpected addition in his plans.

Though…if he was being completely honest with himself…it had felt quite nice these past several days to have someone else with him even if she rarely exited this room.

Just to know that another person was in this small little home he'd made for himself made the place not feel quite so…lonely.

Not that he would ever admit that to anyone.

He left without putting the covers over her to return to his work. Putting her in the bed was enough kindness for one day.

A few hours later, Elaina woke up and found herself in the swan bed. She began to panic, thinking she might have sleepwalked and climbed into the bed herself. The whole reason she had slept on the floor every night despite the pain it caused her was because she was afraid the Phantom would be angry if she touched anything of his. It wouldn't do her any good to anger him further especially when she was just beginning to build something of a rapport with him.

But after all this time, she wouldn't have just gotten in the bed on her own. Even her subconscious knew the bed was off-limits.

Was it possible…the Phantom had put her in this bed?

Elaina just could not figure him out. He terrified her, no doubt, but the longer she stayed here, the more he seemed to soften up to her. During their lessons, he was strict but he never once yelled at her.

She slowly walked out of the room to find the Phantom at his organ once more.

"I never said you couldn't sleep in the bed," he said to her without looking up.

After a small pause, Elaina said softly, "You never said I could either."

"Well, you may."

This was good. He liked her enough to allow her to sleep in the bed. Maybe…maybe very soon, she could convince him to give her her freedom.

"Are you ready for another lesson?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then come. We shall begin."

* * *

A few days later, Elaina slowly stepped outside of the room, but she didn't see the Phantom at his organ like usual.

"Hello?" she called.

No answer.

"Monsieur? Are you here?"

She listened but only the silence replied.

"Hello?"

When she confirmed that she was indeed alone, she frantically searched the lair for a way out. The only things she found were his room which she dared not enter no matter how desperate she was and a wax figure that nearly gave her a heart attack since she thought it was a person at first. She looked closer once her heart had calmed down and realized the wax figure was a perfect replication of Christine in a wedding dress no less.

That was not obsessive at all.

On her last nerve, Elaina picked up the bottom of her dress and raced through the lake water over to the portcullis. She searched on the nearby walls for anything that would raise it up and allow her to escape but there was nothing.

She banged on the iron with a frustrated scream as if that would make it open.

It stayed shut and she stayed a prisoner.

Elaina sighed and waded back to the lair.

It honestly didn't surprise her that she hadn't found anything. The Opera Ghost would never leave her alone if there was an easy way out.

She may as well take advantage of the rare time she had the place to herself.

On his desk, she found a few letters addressed to various people at the Populaire. All were signed either P.T.O or O.G. Her eyes skimmed over the contents and each one held a very specific set of demands for the cast and crew of the operas. She wanted to say he was just being overly critical, but nearly all of his demands made some semblance of sense and would be for the opera house's benefit in the end.

In addition to the letters, she saw that he had created a perfect tiny replica of the theater at the Populaire. A small figurine of Christine in the large white dress Elissa wore during _Think of Me_ stood in the middle of the stage.

She wanted to smash that figurine and the whole miniature theater model, but she didn't dare face the Phantom's wrath should he discover the creations destroyed.

Elaina slowly walked over to the organ and lightly rubbed her fingers across the keys. She never told the Phantom, but it was the best piano she had ever played in her life. She supposed if she was to stay trapped down here, at least she had the world's greatest piano available for her use. It wasn't much but it was something.

She took a seat on the bench, positioned her fingers over the keys, and began to play. After a short intro, she then added her voice to the notes. The sad song, a rather low one for a soprano which was exactly why she had frequently practiced it with Monsieur Reyer, was about being caught in a terrible situation, and she couldn't help but tear up as she realized how much she related to the somber lyrics.

Her singing and playing faltered for a moment, but with trembling fingers, she forced herself to continue as the message of it changed. The final two stanzas encouraged the listener to overcome the challenge and never give up hope. By the end, Elaina's tears had dried and she belted out the last note that echoed all throughout the entire lair.

As she played the final chord and took her hands off the keys, she heard slow clapping behind her. Elaina gasped and sprang up from the bench, wincing when it toppled over with a loud crash amplified by the cavernous space.

"Forgive me, monsieur," she said quickly to the Phantom who stood at the edge of the water. "I know I shouldn't have played the organ without permission, I—I just…"

The Phantom held his hand up, and Elaina stopped speaking. His eyes traveled to the bottom of her dress which was still wet from being in the lake. He correctly guessed she'd tried to find some way to raise the portcullis while he was out. He had expected as much and was honestly surprised she hadn't tried sooner.

"You have an impressive range," he finally said to her. "You are a soprano, correct?"

Elaina nodded her head.

"And yet you were hitting notes even some altos don't dare to reach."

"My instructor helped me extend my range to both areas, monsieur. He said a singer who can do both has a greater chance of getting better roles."

"Who was your instructor?"

"Monsieur Reyer."

"So that it is why he announced you should be Elissa."

"Yes, sir."

"How long did he teach you?"

"Eight years now."

"And he still insisted on giving all of the important roles to La Carlotta?"

"In opera, names are what sell tickets. People wouldn't show if an unknown chorus girl was on the posters."

"I'm afraid that's true."

"Um…forgive me for wandering about without your permission." She began to walk back to the room. "I will leave you alone."

"Mademoiselle…"

She turned to him. "Um…if it's not too much to ask…I would prefer that you call me Elaina. If there's one thing I'll miss, it's someone calling me by name."

"As you wish then, Elaina."

She was almost into the room when she turned back to him. "Um…is there a name I can call you?"

The Phantom turned to her, shocked. No one had ever asked for his name, not even his Christine. Of course, the matter of his name was rather complicated when it came to the both of them.

"I just thought that maybe after all this time down here, you missed someone saying your name too," she said quickly when he didn't answer.

After a long pause, he said smoothly, "You may call me Erik."

"Erik," she repeated.

It was the first time someone had said his name in longer than he cared to remember, and he refused to admit to himself that he liked the way she said it.

"And one more thing," he added before she disappeared. "While you may not like it, this place is technically your home now. I won't be so cruel as to tell you to stay inside that room the entire time you're here. You may come out whenever you'd like."

* * *

"Monsieur?" Elaina asked quietly as she slowly exited the room. It was the first time she was venturing out since he'd given her freedom to roam around, but she still felt a little hesitant to do so.

"It would be pointless to ask for my name if you insist on being so formal," he said without looking at her.

"My apologies. Erik…if I may ask…what is going on up at the Populaire?"

Erik remained silent and she hoped she hadn't offended him by asking.

"I haven't been to the world above for many days. Forgive me for being curious."

The Phantom put down his pen and turned to face her. "They are rehearsing for the new opera, _Il Muto_, which opens tonight."

Elaina couldn't believe it. Had she already been down here for so long that they had had time to rehearse an entire new opera ready for opening night?

Her heart sank a little. Surely if the Phantom had any intention of releasing her, he would have done so long before now. She wasn't sure any amount of getting on his good side could convince him to let her go.

She wanted to ask him if anyone was looking for her or if they missed her, but she would sooner die before uttering that question. She wasn't sure if she was more afraid of Erik's possible furious response or what his answer would be.

"I specifically wrote to the managers that Christine should be cast as the lead of the Countess and Carlotta should be given the silent role of the Pageboy, but they completely disobeyed my orders."

Elaina's brow furrowed. "Wait, Carlotta came back?"

"Unfortunately, yes. Our wonderful new managers absolutely begged that diva to return. I cannot even fathom why when it is quite obvious that my Christine is the much better choice. And now that insufferable woman is the Countess while Christine is the Pageboy. As if it wasn't bad enough they did not give her the lead, they gave her a silent role."

Elaina didn't really care for either of them considering Christine was partially responsible for her presence here even if she wasn't aware of it, but she wasn't about to tell him that. "A silent role doesn't seem to make much sense seeing as how well-received she was during _Hannibal_. Why would they want to keep a voice like that silent?"

"My thoughts exactly. You said that names sell, and you were correct. I was under the impression that her name would be enough for this opera after her shining success in the last one. These new managers do not know the first thing about opera. All they are concerned with is money."

"I'm sorry."

"You shouldn't apologize. It is not your fault this time."

Elaina walked over and tentatively picked up one of the drawings Erik had done. "Is this Christine?" she asked.

"Yes."

"She's very beautiful. I can understand why you like her so much."

"She has the voice of an angel. She is my Angel of Music."

"May I ask how you met?"

"My relationship with Christine is none of your concern."

"Forgive me for prying."

"You are too polite for your own good. Do you truly fear me so much that you will apologize for anything and everything? I made good on my words and have not harmed you, have I?"

"I believe I am allowed to be at least a little wary."

"Fair enough."

"What will you do now about the performance?"

"It is my job to make sure that everyone, especially the managers, know who it is that runs this place. My orders are expected to be obeyed."

"Are you going to do something while the performance is going on?"

"There is no better time to show them what with all those people gathered together in one place."

"You're not…going to hurt anyone, are you?"

"I am going to do what is necessary, nothing more."

With that cryptic statement, he stood up and donned his cape with a dramatic flair before heading towards the gondola.

This might be her only chance.

"Erik, wait!" Elaina called as she grabbed his arm. Once she realized she was actually touching him, she very quickly let go. "Um…please…may I go with you? I haven't been out of here in…well, at least three months if a whole new opera is being performed tonight."

"And why should I allow that? If I let you go up, you will simply attempt to escape which will result in an army of people invading my home, and I cannot allow that to happen."

"No, I won't do any of that! I would just like some air, that's all."

"You will just get in my way if I have to worry about you as well. My answer is no."

"Erik, I am begging you. I've never asked you for a single thing the entire time you've kept me down here. Please? I mean…even you cannot stay down here every hour of every day."

"Fine!" he exclaimed, causing her to flinch. "If it will quiet you. But let me be very clear. You are not to leave my side for one moment. If you try to run or alert anyone, I guarantee it will only end very poorly for you."

"Yes, monsieur."

Elaina had to go about this very carefully. Erik was called the Opera Ghost for a reason. He could appear anywhere he wanted in a matter of seconds. Even if she did decide to sprint away from him, it would probably be very easy for him to find her again. But his tricks were limited to the opera house. Making it out of the building was her only hope. She didn't know where she would go or what she would do, but at least she would be free. Madame Giry had helped her find work once. Maybe if she could manage to get in contact with her without setting foot inside the opera house, the ballet instructor could do it again.

Erik roughly took her hand though not as rough as before and put her in the gondola.

He pushed it along the waterway until they reached the other side. Then he led her back to the Populaire she had missed so much.

Every muscle in her screamed to make a break for it, but she knew the timing was all wrong and her chance of actually making it out of the opera house was slim if she ran now.

Erik first went backstage keeping both of them in the shadows. As if sensing that Elaina was about to bolt, he kept one hand on her wrist and used his other hand to switch out a bottle of spray used to keep a singer's throat clear.

"What's in that?" Elaina whispered.

"Something that will give Madame Giudicelli a very unpleasant surprise. Come."

He took her to the small balcony that circled around the top of the theater that stagehands used to get around.

They tried not to use it during productions but even if people were in the audience, it was very difficult to see anyone using it since it was so high up and set at an awkward angle when viewed from the seats.

"Who's sitting in Box Five?" Erik hissed.

"What are you talking about?"

"One of my demands was that Box Five was mine. It has always been reserved for me."

Elaina looked out towards the box to find a young man sitting in it. She was too far away to make out who it was, but she wondered if he was sitting there just to spite the Phantom. Surely everyone knew that Box was supposed to be off-limits.

Even when Elaina hadn't believed in the Opera Ghost, she had always been hesitant to step inside that particular Box.

Her gaze turned towards the stage, and she watched as Carlotta sang her very high notes before pretending to kiss Christine. Despite her personal feelings, Elaina wouldn't wish for the role of the Pageboy on anyone. She had to give props to Christine who actually looked like she enjoyed kissing the woman, but no one could possibly really like it. Except for Piangi which still confused everyone.

Carlotta loudly sang her next lines:

_Poor fool, he makes me laugh!_

_Ha ha ha ha ha ha!_

_Time I tried to get a better better half!_

Suddenly, the Phantom's voice burst out and echoed across the entire theater, "Did I not instruct that Box Five was to be kept empty?"

"He's here," Meg cried out. "The Phantom of the Opera!"

"It's him!" Christine said, her eyes wide with horror. "I know it! It's him!"

She seemed afraid of him, but that just increased Elaina's resentment of her. She could not know true fear of the Phantom. She hadn't been his captive for three months.

Carlotta angrily grabbed Christine's arm. "Your part is silent, little toad!" she said harshly.

"A toad, madame?" the Phantom responded. "Perhaps it is you who are the toad!"

Everyone looked at each other awkwardly, still trying to figure out where the voice was coming from. Carlotta went offstage and someone sprayed her throat with the spray Erik had switched out.

Elaina guessed that now she would see what it was supposed to do.

Carlotta began her song again, but right in the middle of one of the high notes, she let out a huge croak. The entire cast gasped in unison and froze.

Erik chuckled softly though the quiet laugh still made its way to the performers' ears.

Elaina put her hand to her mouth in surprise. She felt the smallest smile cross her face against her will. Public humiliation was one of the worst things to happen to a human being, but Carlotta was such a horrid person to everyone that it was really hard to feel any sort of sympathy for her.

Carlotta went to resume the song, but as soon as she went for the high notes, she croaked again even louder.

The Phantom's loud laugh echoed all across the theater. "Behold!" he exclaimed. "She is singing to bring down the chandelier!"

Elaina looked at the beautiful chandelier that hung high above the audience's heads. It started to flicker and looked a little loose. Shouldn't someone have checked on that before now?

Andre and Firmin hurried onto the stage as Carlotta ran off, sobbing all along the way in embarrassment.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Firmin addressed. "The performance will continue in ten minutes time when the role of the Countess will be sung by Miss Christine Daaé!"

"In the meantime, ladies and gentlemen, we shall be giving you the ballet from Act Three of tonight's opera," Andre added. "Maestro, the ballet. Now."

"It looks like you got what you wanted," Elaina whispered to Erik.

Erik said nothing as he grasped her hand again and led her to the catwalk above the stage.

Being high above the stage reminded Elaina of how he had 'saved' her from falling. It occurred to her that he could've just let her fall. If the fall itself hadn't killed her, she would've at least been out of his way since that stunt would definitely have gotten her kicked out of the Populaire.

He must've been too angry at the time to consider that option. She didn't know if her current predicament was better or worse.

"Stay here," he whispered. "I need not remind you of what will happen should you try to run."

She nodded to him, and he left her alone on the catwalk to do whatever it was he needed to do.

This was the moment she had been waiting for. He was finally gone, and she knew the fastest route right to the entrance of the opera house. All she had to do was get off this catwalk before he returned.

Keeping her eyes on all of the shadows for any sign of movement, she slowly began to back away towards the side of the stage.

Her freedom was so close…

Suddenly, she felt movement on the catwalk and whipped her head around. Had Erik already seen her attempting to leave?

Her stomach knotted when she realized that it was not Erik at all.

It was Joseph Buquet.


	4. Changes

"This area isn't for young ladies," Buquet purred quietly.

All thoughts of escape fled Elaina's mind. Now all she wanted was for Erik to come back. Surprisingly enough, she preferred him over Buquet which probably said a lot about Buquet as a person. With the exception of the night he'd kidnapped her, Erik hadn't ever hurt her or forced himself on her, but she couldn't say the same for Buquet. He was notorious for constantly flirting and toying with all of the ballet girls.

"Aren't you a ballet rat?" he smirked. "We've all been looking for you."

"You have?" Elaina asked hopefully.

"Of course. Why don't you come with me? I can make sure you get back."

Elaina took a step forward before hesitating. Maybe he really could lead her back to the dormitories where she could get some help. If Erik did somehow end up taking her again, she could tell him that Buquet hadn't given her a choice.

But it was more likely that his intentions were not so noble.

"Do you even know my name?" she asked softly.

Buquet paused and he opened his mouth to answer, but he could not give one.

"…No one's…been looking for me…have they?"

She could feel her eyes begin to water. She had always held onto a sliver of hope that Erik was wrong about no one caring enough to go searching for her, but that hope had been killed without Buquet even saying the words.

"It's all right, dearie," Buquet smiled. "Just come with me, and we'll have you back where you belong."

Elaina looked up at the shadows, praying for Erik to return quickly. She never should've let Buquet see her cry because now she looked vulnerable. "I-I can't."

"Come on. You'll be safe with me, I swear."

The perverted grin on his face said otherwise.

Elaina shook her head. "I don't want to go anywhere with you."

"Don't be foolish. I only want to help you."

Buquet grabbed her wrist and tried to pull her away. Afraid of what would happen if he got her alone, she struggled against him. When she managed to get her wrist out of his hold, the sudden motion caused her to stumble back and fall on her back on the catwalk. Her breath caught in her throat when she realized how close she'd come to falling down the long way to the stage below once again.

Buquet leaned over her, pinning her to the catwalk with his body. She tried to push him away, but she couldn't escape from him in their current position. She wanted to cry out for help, for Erik to come back and save her, but any noise she might make would disturb the performance and alert everyone to both hers and the Phantom's presence. Erik might just kill her if she gave him away even if it was to stop what was happening.

Buquet hands caressed her legs and slowly slid up her calves. She felt her skirt lifted up by his wandering hands as they traveled higher and higher. Tears formed in her eyes and slid down her temples. Buquet spent so much of his time up on the catwalk that he was probably more comfortable up here than on the ground. She was in his domain now and it was one she didn't know how to navigate. He could do whatever he wanted to her up here.

Try as she might, she couldn't stop him.

Suddenly, Erik appeared behind Buquet and threw his Punjab Lasso around his neck. Elaina gasped as she sat up and pulled the bottom of her dress back down. She watched in horror as Erik pulled the lasso tighter and tighter.

Unable to stand the sight, she had to look away as Erik flung the body over the side of the catwalk down to the stage below.

Everyone screamed and panicked at the sight of the dead body hanging from the rafters. The rope snapped and the body tumbled down onto the hard stage, his eyes open though unseeing.

Erik grabbed Elaina's hand and ran off with her through the same secret passageway he had used when he had first kidnapped her. Elaina slowed behind him which caused Erik to stop and turn.

She took her hand out of his grip and stared back at him with wide eyes. This was unlike her fear of him from before. This was pure terror.

"You killed him," she said softly. "Like it was nothing."

"Would you rather I had done nothing?" he asked, the words coming out harsher than he had intended.

Elaina felt like she was going to be sick. Whether it was more from watching Joseph Buquet murdered in front of her or from what would have happened had Erik not appeared, she wasn't sure.

Erik took a step towards her to take her hand, but she quickly recoiled from him.

He had never seen her look so utterly terrified of him which was saying a lot considering how much he'd frightened her by kidnapping her.

"Come," he said. "We must go to the roof."

"Why?" she croaked, her throat feeling like sandpaper. "What's on the roof?"

"My Christine."

Making slow movements so as not to frighten her further, he took her through another secret passage that led them up to the roof of the opera house.

It was the first time Elaina had breathed in fresh air from outside in months, and she would've enjoyed it a lot more if she still didn't feel so ill. It was very chilly as the seasons just finished changing, but she greatly welcomed the cold for the time being.

Erik pulled her behind a statue to hide from Raoul and Christine who were in the middle of a rather heated argument, evidently about him.

This was the first time Elaina had ever seen the rich opera patron up close. He was indeed very handsome, and it was increasingly clear that he held great affection for Christine. She wondered how they had met and if she returned that affection.

Regardless of how they felt, she wished Raoul had never shown up. Maybe then, Christine would've learned to accept the Phantom and she wouldn't be in her current situation.

"What you heard was a dream, and nothing more!" she heard Raoul tell Christine.

Did he really continue to deny the Opera Ghost's existence despite all evidence to the contrary? They had literally _just_ heard a strange voice booming across the theater, watched the leading soprano humiliate herself, and witnessed a man die. What more proof did he need that there was _something_ going on at this opera house?

There was a short silence before Elaina heard Christine sing to him:

_Yet in his eyes, all the sadness of the world _

_Those pleading eyes that both threaten and adore_

"Christine, Christine," Raoul said tenderly.

"Christine…" Erik sang softly but hauntingly.

"What was that?" Christine asked in a frightened voice.

Elaina listened as Raoul sang sweetly to her confessing how much he loved her and desired to protect her.

She had admittedly never given much thought to her romantic life since she had always been so focused on her career at the Populaire and proving herself worthy as both a dancer and a singer, but now more than ever, she wished she had someone in her life like Raoul who was willing to comfort her and hold her and search for her and protect her.

Christine in turn began to confess her love for Raoul, and Elaina watched as Erik's face became more and more pained the longer they sang to one another.

Even though his actions from before still terrified her, she couldn't help but feel the slightest bit of sympathy for him.

She knew probably better than anyone how much he loved Christine, and even if his affections bordered on obsessive, it was clear he still cared very deeply for her. It could not be easy to learn that she did not feel the same way about him.

She snuck a peek at the couple and saw them drawing closer and closer to each other until the gap between them was closed and they kissed passionately.

Erik looked as if the entire world has just closed in on him. For a moment, she thought he stopped breathing altogether.

Her hand slowly reached out to touch his arm, but she stopped herself. Not only was she afraid of him, but she wasn't so sure he would accept any comfort from her anyway.

After what seemed like forever, Christine and Raoul finally left the rooftop, leaving Erik and Elaina alone.

Erik slowly went to the middle of the roof while Elaina stayed back. He knelt down and picked up the rose on the ground that Christine had previously dropped.

The symbolism behind that action did nothing for Erik's feelings of devastation.

He ever so softly began to sing:

_I gave you my music _

_Made your song take wing_

_And now, how you've repaid me_

_Denied me and betrayed me_

_He was bound to love you _

_When he heard you sing…_

"Christine…" he whispered as he fell down onto his knees. He caressed the rose as if it was his tether to life itself. Elaina noticed his body begin to shake with sobs.

This was a side of him she had never seen before.

She realized that she could easily run through the door and leave the Populaire within minutes while he was distracted by his heartbreak, but it felt so…wrong to just leave him here like this.

It was easy to abandon him when he towered over her with his usual air of dominance, but it was much harder when he was crying before her. And even if she didn't agree with how he'd done it, he _had_ just saved her.

Her head turned as she heard Christine and Raoul singing faintly:

_Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime _

_Say the word and I will follow you_

_Share each day with me, each night, each morning_

Erik crushed the rose in his hand, the petals falling to the ground in broken heaps. He quickly stood up, ran to a statue perched on the edge of the roof, climbed up on it, and belted out to the air:

_You will curse the day you did not do_

_All that the Phantom asked of you!_

He climbed down from the statue and roughly grabbed Elaina's arm. She winced but said nothing. Erik went straight to the balcony they had stood on before and looked out towards the stage.

The chandelier started flickering again. On the stage below, the cast of the opera began taking their bows. Christine came on stage to bow, and the chandelier finally loosened from the chain hanging on the ceiling.

"_GO_!" Erik screamed at the top of his lungs.

The chandelier fell onto the stage right in front of Christine. Erik roughly grabbed Elaina's arm again and rushed back down to the lair.

Once back underground, Erik bolted over to the organ and angrily threw all of the sheet music onto the floor.

Elaina flinched at his outburst and hurried over to the room he had given her. She didn't want to be around him while he was in such a terrible mood. There wasn't anything she could do for him anyway.

She sat on the bed, her mind replaying everything that had happened in the last two hours.

Tears freely sank down her cheeks as she quietly sobbed. Had she known what was going to happen, she never would've requested to go back up with Erik. She would rather stay his prisoner for the rest of her life than endure what she had up on the catwalk.

Elaina lay down, preparing to face the nightmares that were sure to come.

* * *

When Elaina stepped out of the room the next morning, Erik, as always, was composing once again. The sheet music he had thrown about still lay all around the floor, and she wondered if he ever planned on picking it up.

"Mademoiselle," he said as he turned to look at her. "I would like to apologize for last night. I know I was rather rough with you after you'd been through such a terrible ordeal. But it was not your fault and I should not have taken my anger out on you."

Elaina was shocked. Was the Phantom actually apologizing to her?

"You have to understand, I don't regret what I did to Joseph Buquet though. Surely, you must have heard the rumors about me killing people."

"I thought they were just rumors," she said softly. "Especially after you never did anything to me."

"I see. When I returned to find you in such a disturbing position, I couldn't think clearly. I've never been able to handle seeing young women abused."

"Is that why you didn't kill me that night?"

"It's part of the reason."

Elaina nervously bit her lip. "I do truly thank you for stopping him before he…"

"I know my actions may say otherwise, but I assure you, I wish for no harm to come to you."

"No, Erik, it wasn't just that."

"Oh?"

She took a deep breath. "Before everything that happened, Buquet said that everyone had been looking for me. But when I asked, he couldn't even tell me my name."

"I doubt you should go by the word of someone like Buquet."

"No, Buquet knows the name of every ballet girl at the Populaire. The fact that he doesn't know mine says a lot. I devoted half of my _life_ to that place. And they couldn't care less. I don't know if they knew I was even gone. You were right. No one was looking for me." She let out a hoarse laugh. "I don't even matter to you, my own kidnapper! The only reason I'm even here is because I messed up what you trying to do!" She wiped away a tear that had slipped down her cheek. "Everyone would just be better off if I didn't exist."

She turned away and retreated back inside the room.

Erik had no words for what he had just witnessed. That had been the most emotion the girl had shown the entire time she'd been here.

He felt something that he hadn't felt in a very, very long time.

He felt sympathy for her.

How many times had he felt the exact same way? That his life was meaningless and that the people he'd known would have been happier if he had never been born to begin with?

But what could he say to her? Even if he could think of something that might comfort her, she probably wouldn't listen or believe him. Not that he really blamed her. She had no reason to trust him. Technically, she was still down here against her will.

Who would want to listen to someone who had kidnapped them attempt to make them feel better?

* * *

Erik took a deep breath. He had been thinking about what Elaina had said all day, and he had to say something to her. He'd been steeling himself for this for hours.

This was ridiculous. He was the Phantom of the Opera! He was not supposed to be nervous! And about his prisoner, no less!

…For starters, he should probably stop thinking of her as his prisoner.

"Mademoiselle?" he said quietly as he stepped inside the room.

Elaina sat on the large bed staring at the wall and turned to him when he entered.

Erik was put off by the emotion in her eyes or rather lack thereof. Her eyes looked so lifeless that he was pretty sure if he tried to kill her, she wouldn't fight back.

Erik took another deep breath. "I am aware my opinion probably does not matter very much to you, but I for one do not think your life is meaningless. I wouldn't have saved you if I thought otherwise."

Elaina didn't respond.

"I never planned on telling you this, but…your presence here has…been helpful."

"Because I'm not in Christine's way anymore, I know," she bit out.

He was a little surprised at her harsh tone when she'd always been so docile, but it was understandable. "Well, that was my reason at first, yes, but that wasn't what I was talking about. I have found that in the last month, I have composed more songs than the last six combined. Your presence has given me more inspiration than I ever dreamed."

Elaina looked away from him. It wasn't enough, and he knew it. Being someone's muse didn't make up for completely cutting her out of the world she knew.

"And also…it's rather nice to have…someone to talk to."

Elaina turned to look at him in surprise. He had never been so…honest with her. Nor she with him so maybe he was trying to even things out.

She had never really thought about Erik being lonely before. She wasn't sure she had ever really seen him as…a person up until last night. He had always been something of an entity, and it was especially easy to hate him because of what he'd done to her.

But after last night, not only did he save her, but she had also seen an incredibly vulnerable side of him. In her eyes, he had slowly started to become a man.

She stood up from the bed so she could face him. "Thank you. For saving me last night. And for not letting me fall back then."

Erik smiled at her. "You're welcome."


	5. Sickness

From that moment on, Elaina was not necessarily happier about her situation, but she had come to accept it. She was a lot more comfortable around the Phantom, freely walking about whenever she wished and unafraid to tell him when she needed something.

The two of them started to engage in actual daily conversation rather than their interaction being restricted to a lesson time.

About two months after the disaster that was _Il Muto_, Elaina came out to find Erik putting his cape on.

"Are you leaving?" she asked.

"Yes, I need to gather some information."

"May I come with you?"

"I don't see why not."

The two of them began to make their way through the passages and back up to the Populaire. Elaina's mind was not on escape this time, and she knew Erik was aware of that or else he would not have so readily agreed to let her go up.

She simply didn't see the point anymore. No one above cared enough to notice she was even missing so why bother trying to get help from anyone?

When they reached the end of the underground lake, Erik got out and then held out his hand for her. Elaina stood up and took it, but the gondola started shaking under her and she started toppling out of it. On instinct, she grabbed Erik's hand tightly to keep from falling, but she only ended up bringing him with her. Before she knew it, they had both landed in the water. The water was only about waist-deep, but it was deep enough from them to submerge completely and come up soaking wet.

At first, Elaina was afraid of how Erik was going to react, but she couldn't help quietly giggling, thinking of how silly they must've looked falling from the gondola.

When she got a good look at Erik, she started outright laughing. They both looked absolutely ridiculous. She started laughing so hard, she slipped into silent laughter and tears formed in the corners of her eyes.

Erik's initial anger quickly faded when he watched Elaina laugh. Her laugh might've been the purest thing he had ever had the pleasure of hearing. He had never seen her truly smile so much as laugh before.

He didn't care about his ruined clothes if he got to witness something so…beautiful.

"Sorry," Elaina mustered out as she wiped her eyes and fanned herself. "I really didn't mean for that to happen."

"It was an accident," Erik smiled. "And it was rather amusing."

Elaina couldn't remember the last time she had ever laughed so hard. She wasn't sure she _had_ ever laughed that hard. How ironic that it was in the presence of her kidnapper.

Erik stood up and took her hands before helping her up onto the stone floor that she had been trying to get onto in the first place.

He decided to take off his cape since the water made it even heavier than normal which would make it difficult to move around quickly.

Elaina wrung out her long hair and flipped it over her shoulder.

Erik looked over at the girl and couldn't help but notice how…different she looked. Her wet dress now clung tightly to her small frame and accented every curve on her body. Her wet hair glistened even in the very dim light as water dripped from her hair to the ground. She looked…so…

"Well, hopefully no one will notice the water droplets," she smiled.

Erik forced himself to stop staring. "I'm sure we'll be fine."

Together, they walked through the passages and ended up in the auditorium of the Opera House. It was dark and the stage was still cracked from the 'accident'. The chandelier was gone, but a new one had not yet replaced it. It was almost creepy standing in a place that was normally so full of life, but Elaina had nothing to fear in the shadows since the only thing that would be lurking there had come to somewhat enjoy having her around.

"Where is everyone?" she asked.

"They shut the opera house down after _Il Muto_ for repairs."

Elaina smirked a little. "Was that part of your plan?"

"Many things happened that night that were not according to plan."

"I'm painfully aware." She looked around the theater. "This place isn't the same without people rehearsing. What are you doing up here anyway if there's no people?"

"I needed to find out information about when this place plans to open again. I'm working on an opera to be performed here, and I need to know how long I've got to finish it before my Christine comes back."

"Where is she?"

"She left with that stupid boy."

"Raoul, right? The patron of the Populaire?"

"Apparently, they knew each other as children which made it too easy for him to steal her right from under me. Did you see how frightened she was that night? I taught and trained her for years. I showed her my world. She's the one who decided to take off my mask and reveal my face."

She didn't want to tell him that it was also because he'd murdered someone and Christine wasn't aware of why exactly he had done it. "She saw your face?"

"Yes. I will not subject you to the same horror she had to see."

"I'm sure it's not as bad as you may think."

"You can only say that because you haven't seen it."

That might be true, but she would like to think that it wasn't. How bad could he really look?

"What are you going to do now?" she asked.

"For the last several years, I have been composing an opera and I have always planned for Christine to sing the lead. I will finish it and then the managers will perform it here in the Opera House."

"What will you do if the managers disobey your orders again?"

"They won't this time. Not after what I did to their chandelier. They didn't know what I was capable of then. Now they do."

"When do you plan on giving them your opera?"

"Not until it is finished, and I have a long way to go with it."

"What if you don't finish in time?"

"You ask a lot of questions."

"I'm only curious."

"I will finish in time. I will make sure of that."

Elaina walked to the front of the stage. "You know, I may not have been a memorable ballet girl, but I really do miss performing. I was never more at home than when I was onstage."

Erik looked at her for a second before he walked down into the orchestra pit and took a seat at the piano. "Any arias in mind?"

"What?"

"There's no one here at the moment, so why not take advantage of our time alone?"

Elaina smiled.

"So any requests?"

After a pause, she told him, "_Think of Me_. It's always been my favorite ever since we did _Hannibal_."

"What key?"

"D, please."

Erik played a short intro and then Elaina began to sing:

_Think of me_

_Think of me fondly when we've said good-bye_

_Remember me once in a while _

_Please promise me you'll try_

_When you find that once again you long_

_To take your heart back and be free_

_If you ever find a moment_

_Spare a thought for me_

She sighed as she imagined the Populaire back to its original condition with audience members filling every seat in the house. The lights shined down on her and only her and everyone had come just to hear her sing. She wore a large white dress with her hair pulled back to frame her face.

She continued to sing the gorgeous song, all eyes focused solely on her.

Erik listened from down in the pit to Elaina's voice reach his ears. He recalled listening to his Christine sing the very same song on the evening of her debut. While the song was better sung by Christine because it was more fit for her voice and range, Elaina still sang it quite beautifully.

When she reached the end, she sang the ascending scale of notes smoothly before belting out the last high note that echoed throughout the theater.

The members of the audience burst into applause for her.

"Splendid job, mademoiselle," Erik smiled as he stood up from the piano.

Elaina looked back out at the house. The opera house was once again old and abandoned, and she was back in her wet ballet dress.

She smiled down at Erik. "Thank you."

He looked her up and down, noticing she was beginning to shiver and her bottom lip had started to tremble. "While we're up here, I think we should go about getting you some new clothes."

They walked backstage to the women's costume department. Elaina pulled a few dresses from the racks that were light and easy to move around in. She decided to forgo shoes for now since she couldn't carry everything and she'd gotten pretty used to walking around barefoot.

She returned to find Erik waiting patiently for her. "Come, I must see if anyone has any information about the opera's reopening."

They both walked through the hallways before they heard footsteps. Erik grabbed Elaina and pulled her into the shadows.

A couple of men came into their sights whom neither of them recognized.

"How comes the repairs?" one man asked.

"It's tough. The Opera Ghost really did a job here," the second responded.

"The Opera Ghost is nothing but a myth used to explain away the mistakes people make."

"So what of Joseph Buquet? They say the Opera Ghost killed him for telling too many stories about him."

"Accidents happen all the time up there."

"But people reported seeing a figure dressed in black."

"They were scared to death and weren't in their right minds which was making them see things that weren't really there."

"It wasn't just that night that strange things were happening. I could have sworn I heard singing just a few moments ago."

"Singing?"

"But it was a woman's voice, and everyone says the Opera Ghost is a man."

Elaina smiled up at Erik knowingly.

"The dust is getting to your head, my friend. I've been here all day and haven't heard any singing."

The second man sighed, giving up on his unbelieving friend. "What news on the new chandelier?"

"The managers have gotten one, but it's taken a huge sum of money from their funds."

"Word is that there's going to be a grand reopening at the start of the New Year in four months. The managers are throwing a huge masquerade party to celebrate."

"A masquerade, you say? We haven't had one of those in ages."

"And we're not going to if we don't get this place fixed up in time. Come on. We must go to work."

Erik quietly took Elaina back down to the lake, and they were both very careful getting in and out of the gondola. Just the thought of what had happened made her giggle again.

Erik began to pace once they were in the lair. "Four months?" he murmured. "That is not enough time. I still have much to do with my opera. But it must be done by then."

"Erik?" Elaina said. "If you need help, I don't mind offering my assistance. I can't compose, but I would be willing to lend my voice if that would benefit you. It would at least give me something to do."

"I appreciate that, mademoiselle. There is much to do and not a lot of time to do it. There's no way I will be able to do it all on my own."

"Tell me what you need from me."

* * *

Unfortunately, before Elaina had the chance to help him with anything, she woke up the next morning feeling absolutely terrible. She was hot and cold at the same time and her head was killing her more than her throat.

Confused that Elaina had yet to exit the room this late in the day, Erik peeked inside the room and was not happy upon the sight that greeted him.

Elaina's face was deeply flushed and she let out some very deep coughs that looked as if they hurt her entire body.

He went up to her and placed the back of his hand on her forehead.

"You have a fever," he said concerned. "No doubt from staying in those wet clothes for far too long."

"You were in your wet clothes longer than I was," she said hoarsely.

"Ghosts do not get ill."

Erik left the room and came back with a cup of water.

"Can you sit up?"

Elaina dug deep for her strength and managed to sit up just enough for her to sip the water. It felt soothing as she felt the cool liquid rush through her body.

"Drink a lot of fluids. It will help you get better," Erik said. "Try to rest."

Elaina nodded and closed her eyes. Her dreams were filled with feverish nightmares that did nothing to help her exhaustion.

She woke with a start, unsure of how long she'd been asleep. When she looked beside her, she saw that Erik had left her a cup of tea. She sat up and slowly sipped it.

Erik sure could make an amazing cup of tea.

The warmth of the drink made her feel drowsy and she soon slipped back into unconsciousness.

Unbeknownst to her, her fever started to rise.

"Elaina," Erik called as he stepped inside the room. "Would you like some more tea?"

Elaina made no movement.

"Elaina."

Still no response.

"…Elaina?"

Erik stepped closer to her. Hesitantly, he put his hand to her forehead. She was even hotter than before, and that could not be good. If he didn't get her temperature down soon, she might…

He didn't even want to think of that.

Erik raced to the small bathroom in the lair and filled up the tub with lukewarm water. He remembered hearing somewhere that it couldn't be cold water because it would make her shiver which would just raise her temperature.

He then returned to Elaina and whipped the blanket off her. After a moment's hesitation, he put her arm around his neck and lifted her small body up into his arms. He could feel her heat radiating from her body even through all of his layers of clothing.

He quickly carried her inside the bathroom.

Now what?

He most certainly could _not_ undress her.

"Forgive me, mademoiselle."

Erik carefully set her down inside the water, clothes and all. A wet dress was much easier to deal with than…well, the alternative.

Almost as soon as she hit the water, she awoke with a gasp. "Why am I in a bathtub with my dress on?"

Erik let out a light relieved laugh. "Your temperature got too high. Luckily, it seems this did the trick."

"Well, if it's all the same, I'd like to get some dry clothes on now."

"Of course."

She waited a bit, nearly dozing off again, until he returned with a white satin nightgown.

"That's not mine," she mumbled tiredly.

"I know."

"Let me guess. You were saving it for Christine."

"Perhaps."

She thought she saw his face redden, but she was so out of it that she couldn't tell if she hallucinated that or not.

Erik helped her stand and step out of the tub. He then gave her a towel and exited the bathroom to allow her to change into the nightgown.

After a few minutes, he knocked on the door. "Mademoiselle, are you finished?"

"Mm-hm."

He entered the bathroom to find her holding her head in pain. But what was more noticeable was that she had not changed into the nightgown.

"What is it?"

"My head is killing me." She held up the nightgown with one hand. "Help me."

Erik's eyes widened a little. "Um, mademoiselle, I believe it would be better if you changed yourself."

"I need help," she repeated.

Erik sighed. He needed to get her out of the wet clothes and back into bed quickly, but did she really know what she was asking of him?

Releasing a large breath of air, he helped her stand up and turned her around. He undid the buttons on the back of the wet dress which proved to be increasingly difficult because he couldn't get his hands to stop trembling as he saw more and more of her creamy skin exposed.

He had a sudden overwhelming desire to run his hands all over her bare flesh.

Erik was a little surprised at the unexpected strange feeling as he only had eyes for Christine.

But he was aware that he was incredibly starved of sensual affection and those feelings must have only come about because Elaina was the one right in front of him revealing…quite a bit more than was appropriate.

Finally, all the buttons were undone and Erik quickly turned away when Elaina let the dress slip from her shoulders and fall to the floor.

He hoped that she would be able to put the nightgown on for herself, but those hopes were dashed when she mumbled, "Help me."

Feeling his face getting hotter by the second from embarrassment, Erik retrieved the white nightgown and averted his eyes as much as possible while he slipped it on over her head. Fortunately, he did not see anything more than he already had.

He then buttoned up the back of the nightgown for her, effectively locking away all that awoke a long-dormant part of him.

Elaina once again put her hand to her aching head, unaware at just how much of herself she had chosen to reveal to him.

"Let me get you back in bed."

Erik gently lifted her up and carried her back to the swan bed. Had Elaina been in the right state of mind, she might've panicked at all that had happened so far. As it was, she could barely comprehend that she was even awake, much less that the Phantom of the Opera was carrying her and had seen her nearly completely naked.

Erik decided to ignore how perfectly she fit inside his arms.

Once she was back in bed, he brought her some more hot tea.

She took it from him and slowly sipped it which brought back a little more of her awareness though not her memory of what she'd just done. "Erik, why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?"

"All of this. Taking care of me."

"Mademoiselle," he said shocked. "I may be a ghost, but even I am not heartless enough to not get you well again. Besides, I need your skills to finish my opera, and you cannot do so if you are ill."

Before he could leave, she quickly called, "Erik, wait."

He turned back around.

"Please…I…I don't want to be alone."

Elaina couldn't believe what she was saying. She was asking the Phantom of the Opera, who had kidnapped her and terrified her for months, to stay next to her.

"Will…will you read to me?"

"Read to you?"

"My head hurts too much for me to read on my own."

"Very well. What would you like me to read?"

"Anything. Just something to put my mind at ease."

Erik retrieved a book from his very limited collection and pulled up a chair next to the bed before delving into the story.

Elaina allowed his rich voice to give life to the text and keep her head from swimming.

He made it about four chapters in when he realized that she was forcing herself to stay awake.

He softly closed the book. "Get some sleep."

"I'm afraid to," Elaina admitted quietly.

She hated sounding so childish, but the nightmares had gotten progressively worse and she wasn't sure she had the strength to face another one.

"I believe I know what will help," Erik said gently.

He left the room and returned with a beautiful violin in hand. He put the instrument beneath his chin and slowly ran the bow across the strings.

A gentle beautiful melody graced Elaina's ears that immediately began to help her relax.

Was there anything that man couldn't do?

She slowly allowed the soft song to caress her into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

It was quite a while before Elaina was well enough to get out of bed.

When the time came, she eagerly lifted the covers up and put her bare feet on the stone floor, thankful to not be confined to the bed any longer. But when she went to go stand up, she fell right over into Erik's arms. She felt her face redden.

"I believe your muscles have somewhat deteriorated," he said, clearly trying not to laugh.

He helped her stand again by firmly taking her waist with his left arm and holding her right hand with his. Slowly, he helped her walk out of the room and onto an awaiting chair out in the lair.

It was extremely humiliating and incredibly awkward. Elaina didn't like being this close to Erik. It made her very uncomfortable. Her heart hammered in her chest from the close proximity to him.

Of course, if she'd remembered what she had made him do in the bathroom, the embarrassment she would feel would pale in comparison.

"You need to walk around a lot to get your strength back."

Over the course of the next few days, Erik helped her legs learn how to walk again.

Each day, he took her on the gondola and walked with her through the passages, never once losing his way. Over time, he let go of her waist and held onto both of her hands. Eventually, he only needed to hold onto one hand and then nothing at all.

Elaina was embarrassed that she needed so much help to complete the simple task of walking. But she was more surprised that he put so much effort into helping her recover. If this had all happened on her first night down here, he probably would've ignored her completely and let her deal with it on her own.

She wondered if anyone at the Populaire would've cared for her as much as he had. Would anyone there have worked to cool her down when her fever got too high? Would they have read to her because she couldn't read herself? Would they have taken the time to help her walk again?

She wasn't so sure they would have…

But that begged the question of why. Why was Erik going to so much trouble for her, the person who had ruined all of his plans for Christine to begin with? Didn't he hate her?

And…why was she starting to feel comfortable by his side?


	6. Preparations

After two weeks of recovering, Elaina returned to her old self and was able to finally begin helping Erik with his opera. The music in it was unlike anything she had ever heard before, but it wasn't bad. It was just very different.

True to her word, Elaina could not compose anything. But Erik got her to sing what he composed to make sure it sounded good. After all, if his Christine was to sing it, it needed to be perfect.

It certainly helped that Elaina could hit nearly every single note he played. It astounded him that she was capable of hitting so many notes. With such a wide range, it made absolutely no sense to him why she had been put in the ensemble for her entire career at the opera house. It was clear the young woman had a lot of talent. If not a lead, she should have at least had a minor role rather than just one voice in a crowd.

Erik had always gotten along fine with Monsieur Lefevre while he was the manager of the opera house, but he didn't think he would ever be able to forgive the man for keeping a voice such as hers silent.

In the back of her mind, Elaina knew that the masquerade they had heard discussed on their trip above was drawing came closer and closer, and she couldn't help but hope that Erik might let her attend. Masquerades thrown at the opera house were known to be very beautiful and extravagant, and she desired to experience it for herself.

On an ordinary morning, Elaina came out of her room ready to assist with the opera only to find the lair empty. While a little disappointed that Erik must have traveled up without her, she decided to take advantage of his disappearance.

For the last several weeks, she had wanted to know what was in Erik's room and now the opportunity had presented itself.

Glancing behind her to ensure she was still alone, she slowly ventured into the place she had never dared set foot and probably never would again.

It was very dark and she stumbled into things a couple of times. She wasn't really sure what she was expecting, but when her eyes adjusted, she realized that it looked fairly like any other bedroom.

What caught her attention were several masks attached to a couple of statues.

She took one of them in her hands. It was white, like the one he always wore, but this covered both halves of his face instead of just his right side. It felt smooth and delicate in her hands.

Elaina wondered just what it was that hid under that mask of his. Christine seemed frightened by it and Erik insisted it was horrifying, but Elaina was sure it couldn't possibly be as bad as they made it out to be.

And if it was…what then? Would it change her opinion of him? Wouldn't he still be the same person who had saved her from Buquet and helped her when she fell ill?

Suddenly, Erik's dark figure towered over her and snatched the mask out of her grasp. Elaina gasped and her heart skipped several beats.

"What do you think you're doing?" he growled.

"I'm sorry," she breathed as she backed out of the room.

"You should not have come in here!"

"I—"

"No one is to enter this room!"

Elaina tripped and fell onto the floor by the organ. "I didn't mean—"

"That room is strictly forbidden! You are never to enter it again!"

"But—"

"Curse you!" he screamed as he turned away from her. "You little viper!"

"I…I'm so sorry," Elaina said quietly as she ran to the room.

Once inside, she took a seat on the bed and took some deep breaths to calm her racing heart. Erik rarely got truly angry with her, but she had forgotten how terrifying he could be when he was upset.

How could she have been so stupid? He was a Phantom! Even if he hadn't caught her, he surely would've found out that she had been in there.

Erik pounded his fist onto the organ, fuming.

How dare that girl enter his private place?! He supposed he had never expressly said she couldn't go inside, but she hadn't the whole time she'd been here, so he believed that it was an unspoken but very clear rule.

He thought about how he had cursed her. It was the exact same words he used when Christine pulled off his mask…

No, that didn't mean anything!

This girl was not Christine. She could be as complacent and kind and…and beautiful as she wanted.

She would never be anything like his beloved Christine.

* * *

Elaina took a deep breath and exited the room. "Monsieur?" she said softly.

"What?" Erik snapped, not turning to look at her from the organ.

"You have every right to be angry with me. I should never have invaded your privacy like I did. My curiosity got the better of me, but that is no excuse. Please forgive me."

Clenching his jaw, Erik turned to look at her. Her apology was different this time. She wasn't apologizing for the sake of appeasing him or appealing to his good side. She was genuinely sorry and wanted to make amends.

Erik sighed. "You are forgiven. I only ask that you do not enter that room ever again."

"Of course. You have my word."

"Good. Come, I have more music for you."

Elaina smiled a little. At least he wasn't one to hold grudges.

Against her anyway.

She walked over to him, and he handed her the page of music he had just written. Elaina quickly read over the lyrics and the notes. Then Erik played the notes on the organ and she sang:

_No thoughts within her head, but thoughts of joy!_

_No dreams within her head but dreams of joy!_

Elaina pursed her lips. The words didn't feel right. "I think that second line needs changing."

"To what?" Erik asked.

"Well, it just repeats and it sounds kind of wordy. What if you changed 'head' to 'heart'? And 'joy' to 'love'?"

Erik played the organ again and Elaina sang the new lyrics.

"That is much better, I must admit."

While Erik continued to create more lyrics and notes for her to sing, Elaina asked him, "How do you plan on giving them the opera? Are you going to leave it on the managers' desks with another note?"

"No. No one will have seen me for six months. My entrance will be much grander."

"What are you going to do?"

"What better time than the Masquerade when everyone will be gathered together in one room?"

"You're going to the Masquerade?"

"Yes, it is the perfect time to remind everyone, especially Christine, who the real master is in _my _Opera House."

Elaina paused, knowing she could not put off the question any longer. "Will I be allowed to attend?"

Erik looked over at her. "Of course. I thought that went without saying."

Elaina gave him a small smile of relief though a little surprised he was so ready to allow her to go when there would be many people gathered together and plenty of opportunities for her to escape if she so desired.

"After all the help you've given me with my opera, it only seems right that you are there when I present it."

"You still haven't told me how you're going to present it."

"I will be dressing as Red Death from the classic story."

"I'm sure that will probably terrify everyone."

"Good. At the time I've revealed that I am still here, I will then hand over the opera to the managers."

"Are you going to be okay seeing Christine again after all this time?"

"Christine is blinded by her supposed affection for that stupid boy. This opera will show her how much she would be better off with me."

Elaina didn't reply, but she wasn't sure how much truth there was to that statement. Even if Erik had been her teacher, it didn't mean that she would automatically return his feelings. On the contrary, she was very much in love with Raoul, and she had a feeling Erik was in extreme denial about that despite hearing it for himself that night on the roof.

Elaina had learned how to adapt to life down here after months and it helped that she didn't really have anyone above who cared enough to miss her.

But would Christine ever truly be able to be happy trapped with Erik when she also had plenty of people in the world above who loved her?

* * *

It took quite a long time, but eventually, Erik and Elaina managed to finish the opera.

Which meant it was a matter of days before the Masquerade Ball.

"Erik," Elaina said. "I know you said I could go to the Masquerade, and I'm truly thankful, but I don't have the proper attire to attend."

Erik stood up from the organ bench. "Come with me."

She started to follow, but she stopped when she saw he was going inside his room.

He turned when he saw she wasn't behind him. Recalling her promise to him, he told her, "Just this once, I'll allow it."

Elaina smiled a little and followed him inside.

He led her over to a large armoire and opened it to reveal three gorgeous ball gowns.

Elaina's smile widened. She had never seen such beautiful dresses in her whole life. She supposed he had been keeping them for Christine once he was able to convince her to be his.

One of the dresses was a silver color with frills on the top and poofed out beneath the bodice. The other one was a sea green with off-the-shoulder straps and was more form-fitting. But her favorite one was a strapless black dress with a tight bodice. The rest of the dress flowed out, covered with a sparkly layer of black tulle and different sparkles sprinkling the bodice.

She lightly pulled it out of the armoire. "This is the one. It's so beautiful."

Erik felt his face warm as he imagined what Elaina might look like inside such an extravagant dress, but he quickly forced those thoughts out of his mind. This dress was intended for Christine and he was sure that it would look much better on her.

"Since this is a masquerade, I believe you will also be needing a mask," he said. "I have just the one."

He rummaged through his vast collection of masks and presented her with a beautiful mask that went perfectly with her dress. It faded from black to silver to black again and had intricate designs and curlie-cues around it. The top, right where the center of her forehead was, was shaped like a small crown, setting it apart from the rest of the outline.

"This is perfect," she smiled.

"I'm glad it is to your liking."

"I…wanted to ask something."

"What is it?"

"I know you're making a grand entrance to the party, but do you think you could escort me in…so I don't look foolish showing up alone?"

Erik didn't say anything for far longer than she wanted before he finally stated, "I suppose so."

"If-if it's too much trouble, I don't mind showing up alone. I just thought I would ask."

"I would have to wear two different costumes since I obviously cannot wear my Red Death costume to walk in, but it is doable."

"Are…are you sure it won't be too difficult?"

"No, it is quite simple. And I must admit, I do want a little taste of what a real party is like."

Elaina smiled and turned to return to the room with her dress and mask.

She sighed as she took in the fact that was about to attend a party with the Phantom of the Opera.


	7. Masquerade

On the morning of the masquerade, Erik was not in the lair. Elaina wondered what exactly he was doing all the times he went out.

She looked at his desk and found a letter addressed to her sitting next to a small box.

_Elaina,_

_Just in case you found yourself needing these for tonight._

_O.G._

Elaina smiled at the signature. Even though they were on a first name basis, he still addressed his letter as the Opera Ghost.

She took the box in her hands and opened it. Inside sat little pins, jewels, and other things she could use to fix her hair. Elaina let out a small surprised laugh.

Once again, Erik had gone out of his way for her. With newfound excitement, she retreated into the room and went about figuring out what to do with her hair now that she had supplies to work with. She certainly had experience doing her own hair since all of the cast members at the Populaire were responsible for doing their own hair before performances.

Erik must've come back at some point, but she didn't notice when he did as she worked on fixing herself up to be worthy of an Opera Populaire masquerade ball.

Elaina decided to make some tight curls on the back of her head and secure them tightly with the pins. She left some of her hair loose at the bottom on the left side and curled it into loose ringlets to hang over her shoulder. Then she took a few flowers and intertwined them in her tight curls. When she was satisfied with her appearance, she put on the black dress and the black and silver mask Erik had given her.

Elaina looked at herself in the mirror and didn't recognize the face looking back at her. This was not the same girl from nearly nine months ago. She couldn't describe how exactly she had changed, but it was a good kind of change.

She certainly had never felt more beautiful in her life. She found it ironic that she felt most beautiful in the place that was technically her prison.

But she could admit that it hadn't felt like a prison in a long time.

"Elaina?" she heard Erik's voice call her. "Are you ready, mademoiselle?"

Elaina took a deep breath and went out to the lair.

Erik stood by the gondola dressed in a suit that would not draw attention to him among the throng of people. He had on a black mask that nearly covered his entire face, yet she could still see his green eyes get considerably wider.

"Is it too much?" she asked quietly.

"No," he answered softly. "You look…wonderful."

What was this he was feeling? He never knew Elaina was capable of looking so…gorgeous. The dress really complimented her figure and the mask brought out her eyes splendidly.

Erik had initially bought the dress to give to his Christine someday. He tried to picture her wearing it, but looking at Elaina, he couldn't imagine anyone looking more beautiful than she did at this very moment.

Erik held out his arm for her. Elaina slowly took it, unsure if this was really happening.

He very carefully helped her into the gondola, neither of them wanting a repeat of their last experience especially now that they were in formal wear.

When they were at the entrance to the masquerade, Elaina nervously stepped back. "I don't think I've ever been to such an extravagant event before."

Erik offered his arm once more. "Neither have I. So at least we can be new to this together."

Something about the way he said 'together' made Elaina's stomach churn, and she didn't know why.

They stepped into the Grand Staircase area, the highlight of the Opera House, and were greeted by hundreds of different colors and extravagant decorations.

Elaina looked around in awe at the many people dancing to the fast music, each person dressed in a different color with a different mask.

It was all so overwhelming but still so beautiful. All of the rumors surrounding the Opera House masquerades were indeed true. It was the most elegant party she'd ever witnessed.

After spending months around only one other person, Elaina felt a little anxious being in a room with so many people.

"Mademoiselle."

Abruptly brought of her thoughts, Elaina looked over at Erik and saw his gloved hand extended towards her.

"May I have this dance?"

Elaina could not believe what she was hearing. The infamous Opera Ghost was asking her to dance?

In that one moment, her mind traveled back to the first time she had seen him. How different their relationship had become.

"I would love to, monsieur."

Erik led her to the middle of the floor and placed his hand on her waist and guided her hand to his shoulder. He led her in a small ballroom dance, and she was not even surprised anymore to find that he was an incredible dancer. Given her dancing background, she was able to match him step for step.

Elaina found herself laughing the longer they danced together. She hadn't had this much fun in a very, very long time.

Despite the large crowd, she felt very comfortable and protected inside Erik's arms.

Erik dipped her, and she felt his strong arm support her waist and back as his other hand held onto hers.

Elaina looked deep into his eyes and saw that much of the coldness and anger she had always seen had melted away and she wasn't sure what it had left behind. Never once breaking eye contact, Erik pulled her back up.

Elaina's arm continued resting around Erik's neck as both of them remained silent. She could feel his gloved hand ever so lightly touching her waist and her back. His soft gaze mesmerized her.

Their daze was broken when an unmistakable woman in a big pink dress glided past them, catching Erik's immediate attention.

Elaina shook her head and released herself from Erik's hold.

"My Christine…" Erik whispered.

Elaina watched the beautiful young woman dance with the Vicomte much to Erik's fury. When she looked closely, she noticed a sparkle come from her neck and made out a ring attached to a thin chain.

_That's not going to go over well at all_, she thought.

When she looked over at Erik, it looked like he was fighting the impulse to rip the Vicomte's head from his body. Whether that was because the Vicomte was dancing with Christine or because he saw the ring or both, she couldn't say.

"Um, you should go get ready," she said quietly. "I expect your moment is coming soon."

Erik just nodded, gazing longingly at Christine, before walking away.

Elaina walked over to the side of the room and watched all of the partygoers dance wildly. She couldn't get her heart to stop racing.

What on earth had just happened to her?

Her mind swam as it tried to figure out what was going on and why she felt the way she did.

She watched as everyone danced on the steps of the Grand Staircase and sang:

_Masquerade! Paper faces on parade!_

_Masquerade! Hide your face, so the world will never find you!_

_Masquerade! Every face a different shade!_

_Masquerade! Look around - there's another mask behind you!_

On any other night, Elaina might've watched the dancers with excitement and actually enjoy listening to everyone singing such a joyous song together.

But now, she couldn't focus on anything except the way Erik had looked at her while they had danced together. Or the stranger feeling she had experienced when he had broken away from her to gaze at Christine.

…Why did it feel as if someone had taken ahold of her heart and squeezed it as tight as they could?

How could she possibly be feeling this way? Erik was the Opera Ghost, the Phantom of the Opera, and most importantly, her _kidnapper_!

Instead of standing around questioning her strange feelings for him, she should be making a straight line for the exit or telling someone what had happened to her so they could help her or anything other than what she was currently doing.

No matter how nice Erik had been and how much he looked out for her down in his lair, it didn't change the fact that he had ripped her away from everything she cared about against her will and kept her locked away from the world all because Christine hadn't gotten the lead in an opera.

But the more she thought about that look and the unquestionable connection they'd just shared, the more muddled that fact became.

Was there a term for coming to care for one's kidnapper? Or for one's kidnapper to care for the captive?

The song continued:

_Masquerade! Burning glances, turning heads!_

_Masquerade! Stop and stare at the sea of smiles around you!_

_Masquerade! Grinning yellows, spinning reds!_

_Masquerade! Take your fill - let the spectacle astound you!_

The music took a very sore dive that Elaina recognized immediately and evidently, so did Christine. There stood the Phantom of the Opera at the top of the Grand Staircase, looking as terrifying as ever for all to see.

For the first time, Elaina wasn't afraid while everyone else around her gasped in horror having previously believed him to be dead or gone.

Erik had dressed in huge red robes with a very large skull mask covering his face and his new opera in his hands.

He slowly walked down the steps and stopped in the middle before singing hauntingly to his new audience:

_Why so silent, good messieurs?_

_Did you think that I had left you for good?_

Elaina had to smile. It would never be that easy to get rid of the Opera Ghost.

It amused her to know that everyone had thought he was gone while Elaina had been with him the entire time, plotting for this very night.

_Have you missed me, good messieurs?_

_I have written you an opera!_

_Here I bring the finished score!_

_Don Juan Triumphant!_

Erik tossed the huge manuscript to a terrified Andre who caught it questioningly. There was a slight pause before Erik continued:

_I advise you to comply, my instructions should be clear._

_Remember there are worse things than a shattered chandelier!_

He beckoned Christine to come closer to him. She obliged, much to everyone's surprise, including Elaina's. Her steps were hesitant as if she wasn't completely in control of her actions.

When she was in directly in front of Erik, he ripped the necklace off her neck and growled:

_Your chains are still mine!_

_You will sing for me!_

Elaina rolled her eyes. That was probably the worst possible thing the man could to say and do to the woman he was trying to win over. He might've had a small chance before that utter nonsense. For all Erik's incredible brilliance, he really was awful at communicating his feelings to the woman he loved.

The Opera House floor opened beneath him and he disappeared just as Raoul jumped in after him.

Elaina paused when she realized she didn't know what to do now. She and Erik hadn't discussed this part. How was she supposed to get back to the lair?

Again, she questioned if she should even go back. Was she really destined to spend the rest of her life below the Opera Populaire with a man who didn't even truly like her because she wasn't Christine?

But then…what was there for her up here?

Erik cared about her more than anyone up here had, or at least it seemed like he did. She had to admit that she found that more than a little insulting.

But what kind of person willingly went back to their kidnapper?

Elaina felt an arm go around her shoulders which immediately brought her back to the present. A man dressed in clothes far too expensive for his own good began forcefully ushering her away from the Grand Staircase.

"Come, mademoiselle!" he urged. "You must get away from here before the Opera Ghost comes back!"

Elaina's heart leapt in her throat as she was painfully thrust back into the memory of what had happened with Joseph Buquet. "Please let go," she told him. "I'll be fine."

"Mademoiselle, I must insist that you come with me for protection!"

"I said let go, monsieur."

"I know you must be frightened, but I will keep you safe from that monster."

"Monsieur, I assure you that if you do not release me, you will be sorry."

"Enough of this. Come."

Elaina wrenched herself out his grasp and slapped him firmly on the face. "When a woman says let go, you let go. Do keep that in mind in the future."

Elaina ran off and saw to her relief that he did not follow.

As she kept running from the panicked crowd, she gently pulled her mask off before stopping inside an empty corridor to catch her breath.

She looked around and it seemed surreal that she had worked in this place for several years. The place felt completely foreign to her now.

Suddenly, she felt a hand clap over her mouth and someone roughly yanked her back. She let out a muffled scream and turned to see that it was Erik pulling her into yet another secret passage.

It was truly frightening how he could seem to be in multiple places at once. No wonder everyone thought he was a ghost!

Erik quickly released her from his hold and angrily took her wrist.

"Erik, you're hurting me!" she exclaimed.

He didn't answer as he continued down the passage.

"Erik, please."

He wasn't listening to her.

"Stop it!" she yelled as she wrenched her wrist out of his tight hold.

Erik turned to her in surprise.

"I am _not_ afraid of you anymore!"

This was the first time she had ever raised her voice at him. "You saw the ring, didn't you?" he growled.

Elaina sighed. "Yes."

"My Christine is engaged to that _stupid_ boy! _I_ was the one who helped her, _I _was the one who made sure she got the leading soprano roles, _I _was the one who opened her eyes to the world of music! _I_ have done everything for her and this is how she repays me?!"

"And I'm sorry about that!" Elaina retorted. "But you _cannot_ keep taking your anger out on me whenever something doesn't go the way you planned! Now I will go back with you, but I refuse to let you drag me!"

Erik clenched his jaw before turning on his heel and heading back towards the lair.

Elaina released a huge breath of air in relief. That conversation could've gone many different ways, but it looked like it had worked in her favor.

As soon as they had returned, Erik collapsed in front of the organ and put his hands to his head.

"I gave her everything…" he said more to himself than to her.

Elaina sighed and walked up to the organ to stand next to him. "It isn't over yet. You still have your opera to look forward to."

Erik looked over at her. She looked just as flawless as before despite all the dancing and running.

No. He only had eyes for Christine. His Christine.

"Rehearsals for _Don Juan Triumphant_ start in just two days. I think it's time for some mores notes, Monsieur Director."

Erik ran his hands over his hair and then smiled. "I believe you are right, mademoiselle."

Elaina smiled back at him. She wondered if she had made an incredibly stupid decision by coming back here, but it didn't really feel stupid. This place had become very…comfortable for her.

Erik took a seat at his desk, prepared his quill pen, and began to write. Elaina watched with fascination as the pen scrawled over the paper faster than she thought possible.

His first note was addressed to Andre explaining that some of the instrument players had to go because they were utterly awful at playing their particular instrument.

The next one went to Firmin saying that some of the chorus members must be reassigned to other areas because some of them couldn't dance and some of them couldn't sing and some of them couldn't do either.

Exactly who hired all these people? Were they completely blind and tone-deaf?

His final letter addressed several people at once.

Erik spoke his words as he wrote them:

_Fondest greetings to you all_

_A few instructions just before rehearsal starts._

"Who is that one for?" Elaina asked.

"I believe I will point out Carlotta first."

Elaina groaned. "That woman is more of a curse on this Opera House than the Phantom will ever be."

"Those are some choice words, mademoiselle, considering your experience with the Opera Ghost."

Elaina laughed lightly. "And I stand by those words."

Erik smiled a little as he penned his statement to her:

_Carlotta must be taught to act._

_Not her normal trick of strutting 'round the stage!_

Elaina giggled just picturing how Carlotta would receive that comment.

Erik proceeded to write:

_Our Don Juan must lose some weight._

_It's not healthy in a man of Piangi's age._

"Piangi should also stop waiting on Carlotta hand and foot," Elaina remarked. "None of us were ever able to figure out what he sees in her."

"I agree. That woman does have very few redeemable qualities."

He then wrote out:

_And our managers must learn_

_That their place is in an office, not the arts._

"Monsieur Lefevre was so much better as the Opera's manager," Elaina said. "These managers know absolutely nothing about true opera! All they care about is money. I understand money is important to keep the opera house running, but shouldn't there be passion for the art too?"

"Precisely," Erik smiled. "I'm glad you seem to share my feelings on the matter."

With a heavy sigh, Erik wrote:

_As for Miss Christine Daaé,_

_No doubt she'll do her best. It's true her voice is good._

_She knows, though, should she wish to excel she has much still to learn,_

_If pride will let her return to me, her teacher, her teacher._

Erik signed off his letter as always: _Your obedient friend and Angel_.

"I think those are quite sufficient," Elaina said as she read over them all. "And I don't think they're going to disobey your orders again, especially not after the whole chandelier incident. Heaven knows they can't afford another one."

Erik began to put the letters in envelopes and seal them with the red wax in the shape of a skull. "Mademoiselle, I must ask," he said softly. "Why didn't you leave during the Masquerade Ball? You had ample opportunity. You…didn't have to come back."

After a long pause, Elaina finally told him, "I don't know."

He waited for her to say more, but it seemed like that was all she had to say. What was 'I don't know' supposed to mean? Had she really become so comfortable here with him that she would choose to stay rather than be completely free? Why would she willingly choose to stay with a monster such as him?

"It is quite late and you've had a long night," he said. "Get some sleep"

"What about the letters?"

"I will deliver them before the start of the day."

Elaina started towards the room to change out of her clothes and prepare for bed.

She turned at the last second, and said, "Erik…thank you for letting me go tonight. I had a very good time with you."

Erik felt something twist inside of him at the words 'with you'.

He'd been thinking about their dance almost all night. Why hadn't he been able to look away from her? Why had it felt so natural to dance with her?

She wasn't Christine. She wasn't the object of his affections.

He would only ever love Christine.

So why couldn't he stop thinking about how beautiful Elaina had looked tonight?


	8. Elaina's Past

When Elaina awoke, Erik was playing the organ.

Actually, 'playing' may not have been the best word. Attacking the keys was more accurate.

"Did you deliver the letters?" she asked softly.

"Yes," he stated bluntly.

"I take it that it didn't go well."

Erik stopped playing and looked at her. "I stayed after I delivered the notes to make sure they planned on following my demands."

"Are they still dismissing your orders after everything that's happened?"

"No, it's not that. They have a plan to capture me."

"They what?"

"They intend to perform my opera as I commanded, but I overheard them developing a plan to arrest or shoot me when I attend to watch in my box."

"Well, then you can't watch the opera from Box Five."

"Of course not. They think I am predictable, but a ghost is never predictable."

Elaina smiled. "What do you have in mind?"

"I am not going to simply watch the opera. I am going to be in the opera."

"How are you possibly going to achieve that without alerting anyone?"

"During the song, _Past the Point of No Return._ You remember the song, yes?"

"Of course I do. I remember working quite intensively on it. Is this why?"

"Yes. When Don Juan leaves the stage with his cloak and hood on, I will then take his place, and no one will know it is me because my face will be hidden by the cloak."

"And you and Christine will sing the duet together," Elaina finished, understanding his intentions.

"Precisely."

After a pause, Elaina asked softly, "Will you play that song?"

"_Past the Point of No Return_? Why?"

"It was my favorite in your opera and we never got to sing it all the way through. Do you know it from memory?"

"Of course. Do you wish to sing it?"

"I want to sing it with you."

"Why?"

"It's a duet. It won't sound very good with just me."

"Very well."

Erik played a short intro and then began to sing:

_You have come here_

_In pursuit of your deepest urge_

_In pursuit of that wish which till now has been silent_

_Silent _

He continued to sing the rest of Don Juan's portion of the song before they came to Elaina's portion. With full confidence, she belted out:

_You have brought me_

_To that moment where words run dry_

_To that moment where speech disappears into silence_

_Silence_

Erik looked at her as she sang the notes and lyrics he had written. The song was full of sexual tension which had been the whole point since he knew this was the song he would sing next to Christine. There would be plenty of opportunities for him to show his affection for her both through his music and his actions. He could make her forget all about Raoul.

So why was his stomach turning as Elaina sang and added sultry movements to the music in order to feel the words?

Elaina stepped closer to him when they sang together:

_Past the point of no return_

_The final threshold_

_The bridge is crossed, so stand and watch it burn_

_We've passed the point of no return_

She smiled as he played the final note of the song.

Erik could feel his heart beating faster and a part of him longed to continue playing the next portion of the opera just so he could continue listening to Elaina singing to him.

No, this was all wrong! He wasn't supposed to feel this way about her or her singing. Christine was the only one that mattered to him.

"I love Aminta's character," Elaina remarked, completely unaware of the gears turning in his head. "It's so fascinating to watch her go from young and innocent to being somewhat 'corrupted' by Don Juan. I would love the chance to play her someday."

"…Elaina," Erik started hesitantly. "Why is being a lead so important to you? You were willing to risk your life to play Elissa in _Hannibal_. Why would you do that?"

Elaina lost her smile and it took a minute for her to form words. "To answer that question…I would have to tell you about my mother."

Erik slightly nodded, silently telling her to elaborate.

Elaina took a deep breath.

She didn't speak for several moments, and Erik wondered if she was going to say anything, but he stayed quiet to give her time to organize her thoughts.

"My mother…was a very talented dancer," she finally started. "She lived and performed at the Populaire for several years, and she was even the featured dancer in a few productions. But…she got careless, and she became pregnant with me. When she told my father, he ran off. To this day, I have no idea who he could be or where he went. She tried to hide her pregnancy for as long she could, but soon enough, it was too noticeable. Pregnant women cannot dance ballet for obvious reasons. They had no use for her anymore, so they dismissed her.

"After I was born, she spent her time performing in music halls in order to provide for both of us and then we slept wherever she could find."

Erik frowned. Music halls were hardly a place for young children, especially young girls.

"She didn't outright neglect me, but it was clear she didn't really want to take care of me. I was a painful reminder of everything she'd lost. She died when I was nine. From illness. From…doing what she had to do to feed me."

Elaina paused, and Erik allowed her to take the time she needed to gather herself together.

"I don't think she was a bad person, and I've never been able to find it in myself to hate her. I think…she just wasn't ready for that kind of responsibility. Perhaps if she'd waited a few more years, she would've been a wonderful mother."

Erik wondered if his mother would've loved him had he been born normal.

"She told me just before she died that I should go to the Populaire and find Madame Giry. She said she would help me."

Erik couldn't help but faintly smile, recalling how the very same woman had helped him all those years ago.

"I was too young to be in an opera, but Madame Giry discussed my situation with Monsieur Lefevre who had just become the new manager, and he allowed me to stay but told me I would have to work if I wanted to call the place home. So I became a maid and worked with the others cleaning the Populaire and assisting members of the cast when needed."

"When you were only nine?"

"Yes. There was one woman, Madame Dufour, who taught me everything I needed to do. She was strict, but she was also very patient and understanding of my situation. I think she was more of a mother to me than my own ever was. Unfortunately, she too died from overwork when I was fourteen.

"I felt lost without her, and I needed to move on. So I decided to audition for an opera. Monsieur Reyer and Monsieur Lefevre still believed I was too young, but Madame Giry convinced them to give me a chance." She laughed humorlessly. "The audition was just short of disastrous. I had very little experience singing and dancing, and I had almost no idea what I was doing. Needless to say, I didn't get into the opera. However, Monsieur Reyer and Madame Giry believed I had potential, or maybe they just felt sorry for me. Either way, they both began training me in private when I wasn't doing my other chores around the Opera House. By the time auditions rolled around for the next opera, I was much more prepared and I succeeded in gaining a role in the chorus."

Erik thought this was good news, but her face fell.

"But being my mother's daughter was both a blessing and a curse. It had gotten me a place at the Populaire and off the streets, but…she had shamed herself and the opera house. And everyone was waiting for me to do the same. That's why I didn't really have any close friends as you so acutely pointed out. And it's the main reason I was never offered leading roles. But…I guess I always thought that…if I could earn the lead role in an opera…I would be able to show everyone that I'm not my mother. And…I could prove to my mother that…everything she had gone through for me wasn't for nothing."

Erik very rarely ever felt guilt for his actions. If the world treated him like garbage, why should he feel any remorse for treating the world poorly in return?

But hearing Elaina's confession, he felt a very rare wave of shame fall over him. Perhaps if he had known all of this, he would've just let her have the role of Elissa back then and gotten Christine to sing the lead in the next production. It wouldn't have been ideal, but…he had ripped something so precious away from her without a single thought to her own feelings. In his mind, no one but Christine was worthy for lead roles.

And following snatching her dream out of her hands, he had forced her into his world of isolation and darkness.

He needed to fix this.

"I'm going to write an addition to my opera," he stated.

"Why?"

"I need you in a position onstage to help me switch with Piangi."

"No, I don't want to be _given_ anything," she said firmly. "I want to earn my parts."

"Elaina, I have never given anyone a role they didn't deserve and I don't plan on starting now. If I am the one writing you a role, believe me, you earned it all on your own. You must've worked exponentially hard to get to where you are now vocally. You deserve this."

Elaina hesitated. If Erik just wrote her as a lead, she wouldn't feel as if she was truly proving herself because she didn't get the role purely through her own talent.

On the other hand, she was aware of Erik's borderline neurotic desire for perfection especially in matters concerning the opera house. The fact that he was willing to change the opera he had worked on for years in order to give her a leading role might've been the biggest honor she could ever hope to have.

"Okay," she said quietly.

"It's time to show everyone in my opera house what they have neglected to see."

* * *

Erik explained to her that she would be one of Don Juan's servants, Chryssa, who was in on the plan between him and Passarino. Her character would help the two men get ready and then she would exit with 'Passarino' who was really Don Juan. When Elaina and Piangi were offstage, she would help Erik make the switch.

Elaina would not get rehearsals with any other cast member, so she would have to trust what Erik taught her and take it on stage despite the lack of interaction with everyone else in the opera.

She spent the next several days learning the songs she was to know for her role. Her character sang small verses throughout the opera and she was onstage for many of the scenes, but Erik had given her an entire song just before Don Juan and Passarino came into the room. It was all about how she wondered if she was doing the right thing for her master and questioned many of the previous actions she had done for him before culminating to her knowing that she must do what her master asks of her to live, though in her heart, she will always be a free woman.

The song had a very wide range to it and it was definitely not one for beginners.

It was perfect.

This was finally her shining moment. And she didn't have to worry about anyone taking it away from her.

One evening after a long day of rehearsing, Elaina was just about to change into her nightgown when she heard the organ begin to play.

She didn't recognize the song, and it was much softer and gentler than anything Erik had ever played before.

His voice joined the organ, quiet and pained:

_Shamed into solitude_

_Shunned by the multitude_

_I learned to listen_

_In my dark, my heart heard music._

Elaina slowly made her way out of the room. He didn't miss a single note, and she wasn't sure he noticed that she was listening to him sing. She hadn't heard him sound so sorrowful since that night on the roof.

_I longed to teach the world_

_Rise up and reach the world_

_No one would listen_

_I alone could hear the music._

Erik stopped playing, unable to go on.

"Erik," she said softly.

He turned to face her, surprised to see her standing a few feet away from him. If she wasn't mistaken, he looked a little embarrassed, but she wasn't sure since it had always been difficult to read his expressions with the mask.

"I'll listen."


	9. Erik's Past

Erik sighed. She knew what he had written this song about and there was no use trying to explain that it wasn't.

He had never told anyone about his past before, not even Christine. He wasn't sure he wanted to tell Elaina, but he couldn't say why. Maybe he feared how she would react. Maybe he feared she wouldn't care. Maybe he was afraid that telling her something so personal about him would bring their relationship, if one could call it that, to another level which would confuse him further than it already did.

But she had offered to listen to him, and he didn't know when anyone would give him that opportunity again.

"I was born with this face," he began, lightly touching his mask. "And right away, my mother hated me for it. I could never tell you a single moment she showed any kind of love towards me at all. A mask was the first thing she ever gave me, and she kept me completely hidden from the outside world. A traveling gypsy show stopped near where we lived, and she saw that as her way out."

"Wait…do you mean…she gave you up to them?" Elaina asked in horror.

Erik nodded solemnly. "For as little as 500 francs. I was on display for all to see…"

* * *

_Another day in this little hell._

_This life was just about all Erik had ever known. He could barely remember what his mother looked like or how she smelled. He had never known the tiniest amount of affection, not even a hug. Wasn't a mother supposed to love her child with all her heart and protect him from all that wished him harm?_

_The man who kept him prisoner all these years was only known to Erik as 'Master'._

_That is, when he was allowed to talk which was almost never._

_Sitting in this cage with a dirty sack over his head, starved and injured and covered in grime, he longed to escape and not be subjected to this torture anymore._

_All because he had been born with a cursed face._

_In between the beatings and the times when Master revealed his deformed face to the crowds of people, Erik would spend all his time dreaming of a beautiful woman who embraced him and kissed his scarred skin and told him over and over again how much she loved him._

_He was only slightly aware of people gathering around the cage, waiting for him to be unmasked for their sick pleasure._

_When he dared to look up, he met eyes with a pretty young girl dressed in a ballerina outfit._

_She didn't look like all the others._

_She looked…sad._

_Erik clutched a small makeshift monkey in his hands that he had slowly built with his own two hands using the various items the people threw at him when they looked at him and laughed at him._

_It was his only friend._

_Master slowly opened the cage and stepped inside. He kicked the monkey out of his hands and knocked him over onto the rough hay. Then he proceeded to whip him over and over and over again leaving painful lashes and welts behind. The crowd around the cage laughed in amusement._

_Erik wanted to yell at them, hit them, scream at them for laughing at his pain, but he was completely powerless._

_"__Behold, the Devil's Child!" Master barked as he removed the sack from Erik's face._

_He grabbed a fistful of his hair and forced his face up so the crowd could see his deformity. They laughed at him and threw scraps of food, coins, and pieces of garbage at him as if he were an animal._

_Erik caught the ballet girl's eyes again, and he felt especially ashamed of what he was._

_For someone like her to look at him like that…_

_He could sense that she wanted to help him, but she was just as powerless as he was._

_As the people slowly began to disperse, the ballet girl lingered behind for a few moments longer, gazing at him with overwhelming pity, before she too started to depart._

_Master hungrily gathered up the coins people had thrown inside the cage._

_He was too busy feeding his greed to notice that he had left the whip loose around one of the bars._

_Erik refused to live like this any longer. His one and only chance was directly in front of him and he was not about to waste it. He didn't know what he would do afterwards, but it wouldn't matter as long as he was free._

_He approached Master from behind and put the rope around his neck, pulling tighter and tighter and tighter and tighter until he collapsed onto the hay, eyes unblinking. He then knelt down and retrieved the stuffed monkey he had worked so hard to create._

_Erik looked up and saw the ballet girl staring at him in horror. Instead of screaming or running like he thought she would, she instead rushed over to the cage and opened the door._

_One of the gypsies entered the tent and began screaming, "Murder! Murder!"_

_The ballet girl whipped around in surprise and quickly grabbed Erik's hand before running off with him._

_He didn't understand why she was helping him, but that was a question for a later time._

_It was difficult for Erik to run due to being so malnourished, but his intense desire to escape before he was captured again propelled him to keep going as fast as he could._

_The ballet girl led him to a large building and had him go through a small gated entrance towards the bottom that led to the basement._

_The girl met him down below and showed him the place that would become his home._

* * *

Elaina just sat there, mouth agape. It was one thing for someone to dislike her because of her mother's mistakes, but this was something else entirely.

She could feel hot tears in her eyes as she imagined what he must have suffered. She didn't know if what she was picturing was better or worse but it didn't change the fact that Erik had been through more than any human being should ever have to endure.

If she had known all of this before, she would have acted much differently around him and she never would have judged him as much as she had.

"Erik…" Elaina started, but she couldn't seem to find any other words to say.

She just remained speechless for a few minutes longer.

"I'm so sorry," she finally said.

It sounded absolutely pathetic, but she didn't know what other words she could offer up to him.

Erik was silent, lost in his own thoughts. He had just told this girl his whole story. This girl who was supposed to just stay down here silent and out of the way. The girl who had been nothing more than the result of a poorly made heat-of-the-moment decision.

For someone to know what he had been through, it felt…freeing.

Sitting here with Elaina, he realized they had more in common than they realized. Both grew up with unloving mothers, no father, and were forced out of childhood long before they should've been.

Elaina slowly sat down next to him on the organ bench, not caring in the slightest about being so close to him. She softly touched his hand, a sensation that gave Erik goosebumps. "I can't imagine what you've been through."

Their eyes met and Erik saw the exact same sadness and understanding in hers that he saw in that young ballet girl's so many years ago.

"We were doomed to our fates at birth," she said to him. "I grew up with little love known to me. And now I see that you have too."

"I was cursed as a monster."

Hearing him call himself a monster made her heart throb. She had believed he was a monster upon first meeting him and had thought as much, but now…she hated that she had ever had such thoughts at all and it hurt to hear that he thought of himself that way.

Elaina gently touched the side of his face with no mask and turned his head so he looked directly at her. "You're not a monster," she said softly.

Erik met her eyes, finding himself getting lost in the beautiful bluish-green color. For the first time in his entire life, he felt as if someone understood him. He was more than just a phantom or a ghost, but no one had ever cared enough to look past the tough exterior he always put on. No one tried to see that scared little boy from the cage that was still locked away deep inside him.

He leaned towards her…closer…and closer…

Erik quickly pulled away the second he realized what he was doing.

What on earth was he thinking? He could not betray his beloved Christine! Not after all this work he had done to call her his own. All of this…it wasn't supposed to happen.

Elaina was not Christine…and Erik was reluctantly beginning to see that that wasn't such a bad thing. Though she had initially been brought down here by force, she had returned of her own free will when she had had plenty of time to escape the Populaire and him.

No, Elaina was not the one he loved. She couldn't be. Her voice was not Christine's. This girl was not his Christine.

She was nothing but an inconvenient, unexpected addition in his plans.

An inconvenient, talented, understanding, compassionate, beautiful, unexpected addition to his plans…

* * *

_Elaina walked through thick fog, feeling tough grass beneath her bare feet._

_As she walked further and further, a small red tent became apparent in the distance. When she got closer, she saw the words 'Devil's Child' written on a banner that hung over the entrance._

_Cautiously, she lifted the flap and stepped inside to find a large cage meant for an animal. But to her horror, inside the cage sat a small boy covered in filth with a sack over his head._

_He looked up when he heard her come in and backed away towards the other end of the cage._

_"…__Erik?" she said quietly._

_The boy tilted his head in curiosity, wondering how she knew his name._

_Elaina knelt down in front of the bars and put her hands to the cold metal. "How could they do this?"_

_The boy ever so slowly crawled over to her._

_She could see his eyes through crude holes in the sack, and her heart broke when she saw the utter pain and hopelessness inside them._

_Elaina gently touched the boy's dirtied hands that rested on the bars of the cage._

_The boy ever so slowly reached out and brushed his grimy fingers against her soft pale skin._

_Suddenly, the boy jumped back just as two strong arms roughly pulled Elaina away from the cage. She looked up just in time to see a fist fly towards her face._

_She fell to the ground in shock and put a hand to her bruised cheek. The boy rushed to the side of the cage in alarm._

_Elaina frantically looked around her and saw a heavy piece of wood used to keep the tent tethered down on especially windy days. She picked it up and hit the man across the face as hard as she could. While he was down, she quickly searched him and unhooked a set of keys from his belt._

_Then she rushed over to the cage and opened the door. She ran inside and clutched the small boy close to her. He only reached the middle of her chest as he clung onto her tightly._

_It was probably the most affectionate human contact he had ever experienced in his life._

_Suddenly, multiple people grabbed both of them and forced them apart._

_"__No!" Elaina screamed reaching her hand out towards him. "Erik!"_

_The boy attempted to reach back for her, but the mysterious people refused to let them go. The ones holding Elaina forced her outside the cage and flung her onto the ground while the ones holding the boy knocked him over onto the floor of the cage. A large man started to whip him over and over and over again, the boy's cries of agony reaching her ears with each lash._

_"_ERIK_!"_

_One of the people approached her with a knife in hand. The only thing on his face that was clear was his sick smile as he aimed the knife directly for her heart._

* * *

Elaina awoke with a heavy gasp.

Panting and coughing, she put her hand to her chest which ached as if something had actually hit her.

It took several moments for her to recall that she was safely inside the swan bed and that nearly being killed had been nothing but a dream.

But…Erik inside that cage looking so small and vulnerable…that wasn't a dream at all.

What kind of person would willingly give their child up to be tortured every day with no end in sight? What kind of person beat a young helpless boy just because his face was not exactly 'normal'? How could anyone justify that?

No matter how terrible Erik claimed to look, no one deserved to go through any of that.

Elaina stayed awake for a little while if only to make sure that she didn't return to that horrid nightmare when she fell back to sleep.

But after such awful images, sleep refused to come to her for quite a long time.

Her mind took her back to earlier when Erik had told her everything he'd been through.

He'd almost kissed her.

…And she had been ready to let him.

This was all wrong. She could not have feelings for someone who had kidnapped her and held her against her will.

But then…was she really here against her will?

Erik was the first person to ever truly compliment her voice and skill and actually put it to use. Monsieur Reyer knew she was a talented singer, but he rarely commented on her progress and the only reason he had recommended her for the role of Elissa was because they were out of options. She knew very well that he was hesitant to give her anything because of her mother's reputation.

Erik…didn't care about any of that. He saw her for who she was, not her mother's past mistakes.

Elaina sighed. It didn't matter if she did truly have any kinds of feelings for Erik. He was in love with Christine and it was painfully clear that he didn't want anyone else.

…So why had he nearly kissed her?


	10. Rehearsing

"You know, you never told me how you met Christine," Elaina commented in the middle of her rehearsal.

"Why do you want to know?"

"Maybe I could help if I knew a little bit more about your relationship."

Erik sighed as he turned around on the organ bench to face her. He stared past her, as if reliving the moment he had first laid eyes on Christine. "She came to the chapel at the Populaire quite often to light a candle and lift up prayers for her deceased father. As he was friends with Madame Giry in life, she helped the young girl find a place at the Populaire alongside her daughter. One night, some years after she first came here and had solidified herself as a ballet dancer, I heard singing. It was obviously untrained, but I could hear how good it could become with the right teaching…"

* * *

_It was the first time musical notes had left Christine's throat ever since her father died five years ago._

_It hurt. The notes felt empty and cold._

_She wondered if the music inside her would ever breathe life again now that her father was gone._

_Tears sank down her cheeks as she collapsed onto the floor of the chapel._

_Why did he have to leave her so soon? Didn't he know that she would miss him?_

_"__Why are you crying, my dear?" a smooth voice asked softly._

_Christine gasped and looked around, but she did not see anyone. "Who's there?" she said timidly. "Are you…? Could you be…the Angel of Music? The one my father promised me?"_

_There was a very long pause, and Christine wondered if she had just imagined the voice._

_"__Yes, I am," it finally responded._

_Tears filled her eyes once again. "I thought…I thought you weren't coming. I've waited such a long time."_

_"__Forgive me, child. I am here for you now. I won't let you be alone any longer. I will teach you how to flourish the notes inside you and give your voice life once again."_

_"__Angel," she wept. "Thank you…"_

* * *

"Wait, wait, wait," Elaina interrupted. "You convinced this young grieving child that you were an angel sent by her father?"

"She was heartbroken as it was. If I had said no, that beautiful voice would've been silenced forever. I continued teaching her nearly every day after that encounter until she trusted me. The older she grew and the more matured her voice became, I began to find myself falling in love with her."

"And after you've spent four years teaching her, she's only seen you in person once, twice if you count the Masquerade?"

Erik quieted, seeming to understand that the whole thing was rather outlandish when spoken aloud.

"Erik…don't take this the wrong way, but…is it possible you only _think_ you're in love with her?"

"Of course not," Erik answered a little too quickly. "What I feel for my Christine is unlike anything I have ever felt before."

"When you live isolated and unloved, it's easy to fall for the first person who shows you kindness. But it is never that simple. Loving someone…means that their happiness and safety is always your first priority. That you'll make any sacrifice necessary just to see them smile."

"And how would you know this? Have you been with a man before?"

"No," Elaina admitted, "but I've been around people more than you have."

As much as Erik hated it, she was right.

"You may know everything about Christine, but she doesn't know anything about you. Erik, you never even told her your name."

Deep inside, a very small part of Elaina realized that she rather liked knowing somewhat intimate things about Erik that Christine didn't like his name and what had happened to him in the past.

"I couldn't very well tell her my real name. No angel is named Erik."

"And there's another problem. She spent four years believing that you were some heavenly being. You never gave her enough time to adjust to the fact that you're a very real corporeal human." Elaina suddenly remembered the third night of _Hannibal_ just before the Phantom had captured her. "During _Hannibal_, that was the first time she saw you, wasn't it? Was that why she looked so afraid back then?"

Erik paused for a long time. "I told you she removed my mask."

Elaina said nothing. But it must've been quite the shock for the young girl to learn that her angel was not an angel at all but actually a severely disfigured person. And it must've hurt Erik that much more when Christine saw what he'd always strived to keep hidden away from the person he loved. She could only imagine the kind of anguish he experienced when he saw the terror in Christine's eyes as she looked upon his unmasked face.

"Well…" she finally told him. "Maybe this opera will be your chance to show her what's beyond the mask."

* * *

Once the role of Chryssa was written and completed, Erik went to deliver the new music to the managers with instructions explaining who was to play the new role and how she would not arrive until the opera opened. It was during this visit that he learned of Christine's plans to visit her father's grave.

What a perfect opportunity to win her back…

Erik raced back to the lair to retrieve a few items he would need, planning to get to the cemetery before Christine did.

"Erik?" Elaina asked as she exited the room. "Where are you going?"

"To the cemetery."

"Why?"

"My Christine will be there. I know just what to do to get her to come back to me."

"May I come? I…haven't seen daylight in a long time. I won't let them see me if you're worried about that."

Erik looked over at her and noticed she did indeed look rather pale. "Very well. But you must not interfere. This is between me and Christine."

Elaina smirked a little. "I wouldn't dream of interfering."

They quickly hurried to the cemetery and headed to the mausoleum marked 'Daaé'.

While Erik climbed on top of the mausoleum, Elaina hid behind it out of sight.

A blanket of snow rested on the ground and the temperature let Elaina see her own breath in small clouds. She couldn't find it in her to care about the cold, thankful enough to just get out of the lair for a while. However, she could admit she was a little disappointed that the sun was hidden behind the cold clouds. She had longed for its warmth on her face.

Elaina soon heard Christine sing of how she wished how her father was with her once more and how much she missed him but how she knew she had to let go of him.

She couldn't help but be reminded of her mother. While her mother had not been the loving parent she should've been, a part of Elaina wished she was still alive so that she could see for herself how far her daughter had come.

After a small moment of silence, Erik sang in that soft and hypnotic voice of his:

_Wandering child, so lost, so helpless_

_Yearning for my guidance._

Elaina listened as Christine timidly sang back to him:

_Angel or father, friend or Phantom?_

_Who is it there staring?_

**_Have you forgotten your angel?_**

_Angel, oh speak, what endless longings_

_Echo in this whisper?_

Erik sang back and then Elaina heard Raoul's voice mixed in with it all.

That wasn't supposed to happen. What was Raoul doing here?

Erik was sure to not be pleased about that.

_Too long you've wandered in winter. _

**_Once again she is his_**_. _

_Far from my far-reaching gaze. _

**_Once again she returns. _**

Christine began to sing once more and soon they were all singing over one another so much that Elaina could barely discern who was singing what. Then Erik began singing hauntingly:

_I am your Angel of Music._

_Come to me Angel of Music_.

"Angel of Darkness, cease this torment!" Raoul cried out.

Torment? Did Erik's hypnotic voice hurt Raoul as much as it entranced Christine?

"Christine, Christine, listen to me," he begged. "Whatever you may believe, this man, this thing, is not your father! Let her go, for God's sake, let her go! Christine!"

"Raoul!" Christine cried, broken from the Phantom's spell.

Erik took his staff in hand and launched a fireball at them. "Bravo, monsieur! Such spirited words!" he taunted.

Another fireball came from the staff to land at Raoul's feet.

"More tricks, monsieur?" Raoul cried.

"Let's see, monsieur, how far you dare go!" Erik launched yet another fireball at the two.

"More deception? More violence?"

Erik and Raoul argued over one another as Erik's staff continued to spout several fireballs. Then without warning, when Raoul was at just the right spot, Erik whipped out his sword and leapt down from the mausoleum roof right in front of Raoul. Though Elaina couldn't see it, she could hear their swords clanging against each other and endless grunts of exertion and frustration and one shout of pain.

She direly wanted to see what was happening, but she couldn't risk Raoul or Christine seeing her.

She would never admit it out loud, but she didn't really want to be seen and certainly not by them. Would they even know who she was? Would they care?

"No, Raoul!" Christine suddenly cried out. "No. Not like this!"

Elaina listened to the sound of a horse galloping off and found it safe to come out of her hiding spot.

Erik stood up and glared at the two departing figures. "So be it! Now let it be war upon you both!"

"Erik!" Elaina called. She rushed over to him, her stomach dropping at the sight of dark red blood tainting the white snow. "Whose blood is that?"

"The boy's," Erik answered. "I slashed his arm."

"Are you all right?"

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

Elaina checked him over for any wounds he wasn't telling her about and found herself with her hands on Erik's arms while one of his hands lightly touched hers. She met eyes with him and once again, she found that she couldn't look away from him. It was like he cast the same spell on her as he did with Christine, but he didn't need to utter a sound to draw her in.

She broke away from him and shivered, though she wasn't sure if it was from the cold or from something else. Erik pulled her next to him and wrapped his cape around her shoulders.

"Let us return before you get sick again. The timing would be incredibly unfortunate."

Elaina's heart began thumping in her chest at being so close to him even though they had been this close several times before.

How was it possible he had this effect on her?

* * *

Erik began rehearsing intensively with Elaina so she would be as perfect as possible. He didn't regret giving her such a difficult number, but he was not about to let her mess it up and ruin his chances with his Christine as a result.

He sent clear instructions to the costume department detailing what Elaina's costume was to look like and where to leave it on opening night.

Just days before the opera, Elaina and Erik rehearsed her long number for what felt like the hundredth time.

"No, you are flat on the last stanza again!" Erik snapped. "I told you it is an E and you insist on singing just below!"

"I'm doing my best, Erik!" Elaina retorted. "But we've been at this for hours and my throat is killing me."

"Then drink some water and go again! We cannot stop until you sing it correctly!"

Elaina slammed the sheet music down onto the ground. "You shouldn't have given me this part!"

"Elaina—"

"If I try to go out and do this song, everyone is going to hate me and all the work you've done will be for nothing!"

"Elaina."

"There's a reason I haven't been a lead all this time. I'm just not good enough!"

"Stop it," Erik said firmly.

Elaina pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration.

Erik sighed and stood up from the organ. "I can see that I've been working you too hard. We can take a break for now."

Elaina looked back up at him. "You have so much riding on this. I don't want it to fail because of me."

Erik raised his eyebrows in surprise. He expected her to say something more about her singing ability, not how she was worried she might disappoint him. Did his desire to be with Christine really matter that much to her?

He frowned as he took notice of her pale face and the shadows under her eyes. "Have you been getting enough sleep?"

Elaina had hoped he wouldn't notice, but she was foolish to think that she could get anything past him. With a sigh, she answered quietly, "I've…been having nightmares."

"May I ask of what?"

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Humiliating myself. Joseph Buquet finishing what he started."

She left out that she also constantly had dreams about Erik being kept prisoner because she didn't want him to regret telling her about his past for a single second.

Erik sighed again. Almost every performer suffered moments of insecurity, but Elaina's fears ran deeper than he realized. His constant comments about the things she did wrong probably wasn't helping. Not only that, but she was fully aware that this opera was his last chance to make Christine his which was added pressure onto an already nervous woman.

"Come with me," he said as he made his way over to the gondola.

Confused, Elaina followed as Erik led her across the lake and through the passages.

It wasn't until they reached a door at the end did she realize where he had taken her.

She stepped through the door, squinting her eyes at the harsh light. He had brought her up to the roof of the Populaire on an especially beautiful sunny day. Breathing in the beautiful fresh air, she put her face up to the warm sun which her skin hadn't felt since the day the Phantom had taken her.

Erik watched her close her eyes and take in the sunlight. He liked how the golden rays illuminated her hair just right and seemed to give life to her perfect skin.

"Elaina," Erik said gently as he came up behind her. "I promise that I will not let anyone hurt you. And I don't mean by keeping you down there with me. I hope you've realized by now that if you ever want to take a visit up, all you need do is ask. As for your performance, I know how hard you've worked to get where you are, and I only want to ensure that this moment you've been waiting for is perfect."

Elaina turned to face him. "Your main focus is on winning over Christine."

"Maybe so, but I wouldn't have added you into my opera if I didn't think that you deserved this."

"But…what if I get up there and I sing and…they hate me?"

"If they see even a fraction of what I see, they'll adore you. If you walk out onto the stage prepared to fail, you will. You must have confidence in yourself and your abilities." He gently put his hands on her shoulders. "And I, mademoiselle, have full confidence in you."

Elaina gave him a small smile. "Let's go run the number again."

* * *

That night, Erik quietly stepped into the room to see Elaina asleep in the swan bed. She appeared to be comfortable, so he hoped that her sleep was full of pleasant dreams rather than the constant nightmares.

Erik couldn't deny that Elaina looked rather endearing when she was sleeping which he'd first noticed when he had lulled her to sleep with his violin. Her brown curls framed her face just right and her visage was free of pain or worry.

He suddenly had an overwhelming urge to take her in his arms and rake his bare hands through those perfect curls and run them over every beautiful curve. He wanted to make her feel such pleasure that neither of them would ever regret their morbid pasts because it had brought them to that moment.

Erik blinked several times.

Where had _that_ come from?

He let out a deep sigh.

Regardless of his personal feelings, after seeing her on the roof, it had become very clear to him that…he could not keep her down here any longer.

He was a creature of the dark, but she was a goddess of the light.

They were from two very different worlds that had no business touching.

But…the very thought of releasing her…of never seeing her again, never seeing her smile, never hearing her laugh, never listening to her sing only for him…

It hurt his soul.

He wasn't supposed to feel this way. He wasn't supposed to care about her when he had Christine in his life. He was supposed to care for Christine and Christine alone.

Elaina…didn't mean anything to him. It should be easy to let her go and escape from him.

Why was it the hardest decision he'd ever made in his entire life?


	11. Erik's Opera

On the day of the opera, Erik told Elaina to rest her voice so she would be prepared for all the low and high notes in her song. She was allowed to do a few warm-ups to ready her voice for the performance but no more.

Elaina sipped some of his warm tea throughout the day to keep her throat relaxed and tried to ignore how many butterflies were in her stomach. She was more nervous about this opera than she was in _Hannibal_ which didn't make much sense seeing as she had a much bigger role then. Maybe it was because she was aware of just how much was riding on this performance as a whole. Maybe it was because her song was even more difficult than any of Elissa's numbers. Maybe it was because…she wanted to make Erik proud.

Erik soon returned to the lair carrying a dress which she presumed was the costume she was to wear.

"Here, mademoiselle," he said after exiting the gondola. "This is your servant costume, specially made for you. We are to be up and in place within the hour."

"All right."

Elaina went to the room and quickly changed into the dress. The costume was a bit more revealing than she would've liked, but she had to admit that it did show off her figure and bring out her skin tone. A deep red corset laced up loosely in the front to match the red skirt with a layer of black lace over it that went to her ankles. The red and black contrasted with the white lace sleeves. She wore some simple black ballet shoes to go with it.

She decided to tie half of her hair up into some loose curls and pin it, then she loosely curled the hair that hung down on her neck and reached the middle of her back.

She stepped out quickly, knowing that Erik would want to get to the stage as soon as possible so he could be ready for his performance.

Erik was wearing his signature white mask and his normal suit. Elaina was about to say something when she remembered that he would be wearing a cloak the whole time and no one would be able to see who he was or more importantly, the mask that gave him away.

He remained quiet when he saw her, and Elaina suddenly felt very self-conscious in the revealing dress.

"Are you nervous?" he finally asked.

"Yes," she admitted. "But confident."

"Good."

"I truly hope…everything works out for you tonight."

There was a short pause as they both took in the fact that tonight was the night they had both been preparing for though for different reasons. They tried not to think about all the various things that could go wrong.

"You are missing one more thing," Erik said quietly.

He took a small rose and pinned it right in the middle of Elaina's curls where she normally would've placed a jewel.

She liked the rose much more.

She turned to face him and caught his beautiful green eyes once more.

For some strange reason, Elaina found her breath catching in her throat. She passed it off as the tight corset.

"Elaina," Erik said softly, breaking her out of the moment. "Tonight…once you perform, people may wonder where you've been."

"I won't tell anyone about you or this place, I promise."

"I know, I wasn't worried about that. But…they may ask you to stay. And…I want you to."

Elaina's eyes widened. "…What?"

"You don't belong down here. You belong in the light."

Elaina lightly touched the side of his face. "So do you."

He moved away from her touch. "No. I don't."

"Erik—"

"I want you to stay at the Populaire. I want you to sing with them. Show them tonight who you really are and what you can do. Make them forget all about your mother's mistakes."

Erik went over to the gondola and stepped inside.

They rode across the lake in silence.

Elaina tried to process what Erik had said to her.

She was…free? Months ago, she would've given anything for this opportunity. She should be happy.

So why wasn't she?

She wondered if she was ever going to see him again. Did he even want to see her at all? Was the reason he was releasing her because he simply didn't care about her anymore?

No, if that was the case, he wouldn't have written her a part in his opera...right?

Would this night be their last night together? Why did the very thought make her heart ache?

Once across the lake, the two of them made their way through the passages up to the Populaire. Erik took her above the stage into the rafters where they couldn't be seen by any eyes.

There were shouts of different soldiers declaring that the doors were secure so the Phantom couldn't escape once they caught him.

Elaina couldn't help but scoff. Those men were so foolish. The Opera Ghost did not use doors.

Suddenly, Erik sang beside her in his most haunting voice yet, "I'm here, the Phantom of the Opera!"

Elaina watched as the men looked all around the theater, trying to figure out where the voice was coming from. Then Erik sang again, throwing his voice so as to sound as if he was in a completely different place.

"I'm here, the Phantom of the Opera!"

He looked over at Elaina and smiled a little. She quietly laughed at his trick and the confused expressions on the men's faces.

"I'm here! I'm here! _I'm here_!"

One of the men fired a shot where he thought the Phantom was.

At the sound of the shot, Erik instinctively pulled Elaina close to him to keep her out of the line of fire. When he realized what he had done, he quickly released her.

"Idiot!" Raoul screamed. "You'll kill someone! I said only when the time comes!"

"But Monsieur le Vicomte…!" the soldier protested.

"No 'buts'!" Erik called out. "For once, Monsieur le Vicomte is right."

_Seal my fate tonight_

_I hate to have to cut the fun short!_

_But the joke's wearing thin!_

_Let the audience in!_

_Let my opera begin!_

Erik took Elaina's hand and led her to the wings of the theater, careful to keep them in the shadows until the appropriate time.

Within minutes, the opera began. She could recite almost every line since she'd worked on it with Erik for so long down below. It was pretty exciting to watch his work come to life like this. It was even more stunning than she had pictured.

The performance so far was going very well though the audience's reactions were a mixture of confusion and disgust. After all, the dark tone and various key changes were not the kind of things they were used to in an opera.

Finally, Elaina's time to enter had come. She took some deep breaths to calm her nerves.

Erik's hands gently touched her shoulders before he whispered to her, "You will do wonderfully."

Elaina took one final deep breath and walked out onstage. There were several audible gasps as some of the performers realized who the mysterious role of Chryssa belonged to.

She wondered if they gasped because they were stunned she had the nerve to show her face after departing the Populaire or because they thought she might have been killed by the Opera Ghost or because the daughter of a woman who had disgraced herself had a lead.

Elaina put those thoughts out of her mind and focused on her role.

For the next twenty minutes, she sang a few lines with either Don Juan or Passarino as they barked orders at her.

While Chryssa fed Don Juan his dinner, Passarino came onstage claiming to have met the most remarkable woman. Don Juan roughly shoved her aside, and Elaina was sure Piangi had intentionally pushed her much harder than necessary. He and Passarino began to formulate their plan to seduce Aminta.

Elaina listened in before Don Juan turned and told her she must help him with the plan or he would throw her out to the streets. Chryssa agreed with him and then Don Juan and Passarino exited, leaving her to finish cleaning.

This was it. It was time for Chryssa's song.

As the orchestra began to play, Elaina closed her eyes, took another deep breath, and started to sing.

She could feel Erik's eyes on her from the wings which made her nervous but also gave her more confidence as she desired to please him.

It started out as a very low song, representing the sadness Chryssa felt. Soon, the song became higher and bolder. With each line, Elaina's voice gained strength as it stretched to notes most sopranos couldn't even hit. Halfway through the song, she sang the one phrase that she had always sung flat correctly, and she could almost feel Erik's proud smile.

Her song ended with an extremely high note that she belted out as loud as she could, not caring how much it hurt her throat.

The audience burst into thunderous applause. Elaina didn't break character, but her heart soared with pride at the reaction she had pictured ever since she was a teenager.

She stole a glance over to the wings hoping to see Erik, but she couldn't make him out amongst the shadows.

Don Juan and Passarino re-entered, ordering her about once again.

It was nearly time for Erik's entrance.

They recited the plan once again for Passarino to pretend to be Don Juan and Don Juan to pretend to be Passarino in order for Don Juan to seduce Aminta.

Don Juan put on the cloak and hid his face.

Chryssa timidly led him offstage, regretting that she had to help her master with such a wicked plan.

The second they were both out of sight of the audience behind the curtain, she lost her timid nature and hit Piangi on the back of the head with the prop in her hand.

He fell to the ground, out cold.

"Sorry," Elaina whispered. "He was going to kill you, but I talked him out of it."

She quickly got the cloak off Piangi just as Erik appeared.

Elaina helped him put the cloak on over his suit. "Good luck," she whispered.

"Thank you. And Elaina? You were perfect."

Elaina felt her heart stop. He liked her. Erik, the man who always had something to criticize on both her and every other singer, dancer, and instrumentalist at the Populaire, told her that her singing had been perfect.

Erik exited the curtain and went out onstage.

"I did it, Mom," Elaina whispered to herself. "I did it…"

Erik began to sing Don Juan's portion of _Past the Point of No Return_, her favorite song in the opera.

Elaina listened intently, entranced by his beautiful voice. This song was full of passion and lust which made the material a bit uncomfortable for her, but she liked seeing Aminta ever so slowly lose her innocence throughout it and she had to admit that it was a really fun song to sing.

Elaina stayed behind the curtain, ready to take care of Piangi should he awaken before the proper time.

If she was careful, she could still watch the performance through a small slit in the curtain.

Just at the end of Erik's part, Christine obviously realized the new performer was not Piangi at all and jumped out of his embrace.

Though clearly more on edge and afraid, she continued to sing her part and dance the correct choreography. Erik walked up the stairs on the left side of the stage to the upper level of the set while Christine did the same on the right side as she continued to sing.

Elaina recalled singing the song with him down in the lair, and she liked to think that she and Erik had sounded better than him and Christine.

Wanting to see the interaction between Erik and his only love, Elaina abandoned her post by the unconscious Piangi and went to the wing of the stage where she could see the both of them on the upper level.

As they met in the middle, Christine tried to get away from him, but Erik grabbed her wrist and they sang together:

_Past the point of no return the final threshold_

_The bridge is crossed, so stand and watch it burn. _

_We've passed the point of no return._

On "turn," Christine flipped the hood off Erik's head, revealing the Phantom to everyone.

But it was too late to act. The policemen gathered around the Populaire couldn't just stop the opera and alarm the audience. Christine looked over to Raoul sitting in one of the boxes, silently pleading for help.

Elaina wasn't sure was what going to happen now especially since she knew for a fact that Erik wasn't always the best at improvising when his plans went wrong.

Then Erik began to sing quietly:

_Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime. _

_Lead me, save me from my solitude. _

_Say you want me with you, here beside you. _

Elaina recognized this as the song Christine and Raoul had sung to each other that night on the roof, and clearly Christine did too.

This wasn't part of his opera. This was his idea of improvising.

Elaina felt the same painful feeling she had experienced during the masquerade squeeze around her heart. She wondered if this was what Erik had felt that night on the roof as he listened to the very same song.

Erik placed a ring on Christine's finger quite roughly, signaling that she was his and his alone.

Then he pleaded:

_Anywhere you go let me go too _

_Christine, that's all I ask of—_

The word "you" was never sung. Without warning, Christine yanked off the Phantom of the Opera's mask and wig, revealing his true form to the entire audience.

Elaina put both of her hands to her mouth. For the first time, she saw what was under the mask.

Against her will, her face contorted to a look of disgust. She had never seen such a deformed face in her entire life. His cheek was twisted and lumped in a way she couldn't describe and a small part of his skull was exposed. The absence of his wig revealed only a few wisps of brown hair.

He screamed in anguish and grabbed Christine before he whipped out a knife and sliced the rope holding the chandelier. He kicked a lever, and he and Christine fell down through the fake fire in the middle of the stage. Elaina ran to the fire and looked down, tempted to jump through herself and go after them.

After getting over the initial shock of seeing Erik's face for the first time, she just wanted to take him into her arms and assure him that despite all of his worries and constant remarks about how it would horrify her, it didn't matter to her.

At the sound of screams behind her, she turned and watched in horror as the chandelier fell over the audience and crashed right in the middle of the seats.

Honestly, what did the man have against chandeliers?

As soon as the chandelier hit the ground, a fire resulted from the crash that quickly began to consume the Opera House.

That had not gone according to plan.

* * *

**Someone on the first draft of this story asked why the chandelier crashed twice. As I stated in the introduction, this story combines the movie and musical. In the musical, the crash happens after _Il Muto_ while in the movie, the crash happens after the unmasking. In order for this story to work, both crashes had to happen.**


	12. An Ultimatum

Erik dragged Christine firmly by the wrist down to his lair, fury erasing his better judgement.

Christine tried to yank out of his grasp, just like Elaina had done when he had also forced her down here, but he held onto her tightly, refusing to let her get away.

Why couldn't she just realize that the only reason he was doing all this was because he loved her? Why couldn't she find it in her heart to love him?

* * *

Elaina saw Madame Giry lead Raoul away. No doubt he was going after the Phantom to find Christine. Raoul was nothing if not protective of her. But the passages were a complicated labyrinth filled with traps. How was Raoul ever going to survive the trek down, assuming he even found the lair at all, without someone to guide him around the deadly traps Erik had waiting for intruders?

She started to follow, desiring to do some damage control after Erik's little stunt, but everyone was panicking and scrambling about trying to escape the opera house and the fire.

Erik would have to wait. She needed to help here first.

She firmly grabbed one of the ballet girls.

"Who are you?" the girl asked when she recognized her as the woman playing Chryssa. "Have you been conspiring with the Phantom? Why else would you show up at the performance without any prior rehearsal?"

"It doesn't matter who I am or what I've been doing or how I got the role. We need to get everyone out of here. This place is going up and fast."

The girl looked at her skeptically.

"Look, you can hate me as much as you'd like, but do it _after_ everyone is safe!"

Seeing that she only had good intentions, the girl assisted her in getting both the cast and audience members out of the blazing theater.

Elaina looked over and saw Carlotta weeping over Piangi's body, frantically trying to wake him up. She went over to her and pushed her out of the way.

"Do not touch my beloved!" Carlotta screeched.

Elaina ignored her and tried to think of some way to awaken him. The growing fire caused sweat to begin rolling down her forehead. She ripped off the lace sleeves of her dress and the lower portion of her skirt. Taking some of the excess fabric, she raced to the edge of the stage and dipped it in some of the oil used to light it.

Then she went back over to Piangi and put the drenched fabric directly under his nose. After a few brief seconds, he coughed and sat up.

Elaina helped him stand again. "You both must get out of here," she said quickly.

"This is all your fault!" Piangi growled.

"If it wasn't for me, you would be dead. If you want to blame someone, blame the woman who took off the Phantom's mask and humiliated him in front of everyone! Now get out of here now!"

Breathing heavily and coughing, Elaina quickly scanned the theater. It looked like everyone was out.

She couldn't believe that the place she adored so much had been reduced to this, and she didn't know who to blame more: Erik or Christine. Erik had been the one to drop the chandelier, but he'd only done it because Christine had ripped off his mask in front of hundreds of people. How could the girl do something so cruel to him? What did she _think_ was going to happen when she did that?

Just as she was about to leave the stage and get to safety, she heard soft crying…

* * *

After Erik had forced Christine into the wedding dress he had used for the wax doll of her, she came out of the room that had previously been Elaina's and demanded:

_Have you gorged yourself at last in your lust for blood?_

_Am I now to be prey to your lust for flesh?_

Erik listened to the utter hatred in her voice. Elaina had never had that kind of loathing when she spoke to him. Sometimes she got angry with him, but she never expressed outright abhorrence for him.

Erik shook his head, trying to get Elaina out of his mind:

_That fate which condemns me to wallow in blood_

_Has also denied me the joys of the flesh._

_This face, the infection, which poisons our love._

Christine looked at him like he had lost his mind. Did he honestly believe that they shared any kind of love at all after everything that had happened and all he had done?

Erik continued to sing, trying to make her understand:

_This face which earned a mother's fear and loathing_

_A mask, my first unfeeling scrap of clothing._

_Pity comes too late!_

_Turn around and face your fate!_

_An eternity of this before your eyes!_

Erik forced a bridal veil onto her head and pointed angrily at the lair so she knew that this was her new world. She looked around and at him with disgust and pity. He knew she hated it down here and didn't want to spend the rest of her life here.

Yet…Elaina would have. She had spent nearly an entire year down here with him and had returned despite several opportunities to run off.

He briefly wondered where she was at the current time. Was she okay up above? Had she been injured during his untimely exit? Had anyone attempted to hurt her?

Wait, why was he even thinking about her? This was not the time or place.

Christine sang quietly to him:

_This haunted face holds no horror for me now._

_It's in your soul that the true distortion lies_.

He wasn't so sure that statement was true. He had heard her firsthand as she expressed fear to her lover about how horrifying he had looked when she had unmasked him. His face terrified her.

As for his soul? She didn't know the things he had done in the last several months. She hadn't seen him take care of Elaina when she fell ill. She hadn't seen him save her from being assaulted. She hadn't seen him coach her to become a better singer and more confident in herself. She was utterly clueless about who he really was.

He suddenly realized that had been exactly Elaina's point when he had told her about how he had first met and fallen in love with Christine. Christine didn't know him like he knew her. He'd been so afraid that she wouldn't accept him as he was that he thought it better to simply hide himself from her. Could he really expect her to return his feelings when their relationship was so lopsided?

Erik heard splashing and found himself hoping it was Elaina. Her being here right now wouldn't be very ideal but at least he would know she was all right.

He saw with great disappointment that it was the stupid boy coming up to the portcullis, drenched in water and sweat. Erik smiled, knowing he must've have fallen into his trapdoor on the stairs. He was fortunate to have escaped. Most people died in that trap.

"Raoul!" Christine screamed, realizing who was there.

Erik calmly sang to him and pulled Christine close to his body to prove his dominance to both of them. He could feel her trembling fiercely in his hold.

He remembered Elaina shivering against him at the cemetery as he shielded her from the cold with his cape. She had been cold. Not afraid. She wasn't afraid of him.

No, why couldn't he get Elaina out of his thoughts?!

Erik slowly lifted the portcullis and allowed the boy to enter into his domain. Without warning, he threw his Punjab lasso over Raoul's neck and pulled tightly, noticeably cutting off much of his oxygen supply.

Horrified, Christine sang softly to Erik:

_The tears I might have shed for your dark fate_

_Grow cold and turn to tears of hate!_

Erik remained speechless for a second. Did she really hate him that much now?

…This hadn't been what he wanted.

But what had he even been expecting? That he would sing alongside Christine during his opera and she would just decide that she loved him instead?

Another heat-of-the-moment decision…

Desperate for anything to make Christine stay, Erik gave her a choice: stay with him and he would let Raoul go free, or she may leave but then Raoul would die.

He looked at the boy tied to the portcullis. While at the Opera House, he had only used his Punjab lasso once against another human being and that had been to save Elaina.

…Now he was using it in cold blood.

What would Elaina say if she could see him now?

Why did he care?!

"You try my patience," he growled. "Make your choice."

Christine looked at him and Raoul, tears in her eyes at the impossible decision before her. Then she sang ever so softly to Erik as she slowly approached him:

_Pitiful creature of darkness_

_What kind of life have you known?_

_God give me courage to show you_

_You are not alone!_

She turned him around and kissed him hard and full on the lips. Erik's eyes widened at the sign of affection.

His hands softly caressed her back as she pulled away, looked him in the eyes, and then kissed him again.

He…didn't feel anything.

How long had he waited for this one moment? To feel Christine's body against his, her passion showing through her lips? How long had he wished to be held like this?

But there was nothing in this kiss from either of them. No passion, no affection, no love, nothing.

Christine didn't love him. Despite the affectionate action, there was nothing in this kiss or in her eyes. Even if she stayed down her with him, she would never love him the way he thought he loved her.

He had to let her and her lover go free.

Christine once again pulled away from him and looked at with eyes full of pity and pleading.

Erik felt confused, hurt, angry, and ashamed all at once. How could this woman kiss him after everything he had put her through? Why had he tried to hold onto her for so long when it was clear she would never be his?

He took a candle and went over to Raoul before breaking the lasso. "Take her. Forget me. Forget all of this," he said quietly. "Leave me alone. Forget all you've seen."

He watched as Christine and Raoul shared a tight embrace. What was it like to have someone love you so much they were willing to give up everything to save you?

"Go now. Don't let them find you! Take the boat, leave me here. Go now, don't wait."

His voice grew louder and louder as he could feel his heart ripping in half at the thought of losing everything he had ever wanted. "Just take her and go before it's too late! Go! Go now! _Go now and LEAVE ME_!"

Erik retreated to his desk covered in notes and unfinished sheet music. It all seemed so meaningless now.

The monkey figurine he had built as a reminder of the only solace he had found as a prisoner to the gypsies began to play the familiar tune he knew so well. He began to sing along quietly with the little cymbals:

_Masquerade. Paper faces on parade._

_Masquerade. Hide your face so the world will never find you._

He turned and saw Christine standing a few feet away from him. He didn't understand why she'd returned until she placed the ring he had given her into his hand.

With one last cry, he sang:

_Christine, I loved you._

Christine's eyes watered and she began to cry as if she knew his love and was honestly sorry that she could not return it. She lightly kissed his hand and turned to leave.

For a brief moment, she turned to give him one last look. He simply nodded, silently telling her he understood her decision and that he would no longer pursue her.

He heard her and Raoul singing to each other in the distance as they left him behind forever. He faced the lair and belted out:

_You alone can make my song take flight!_

_It's over now, the Music of the Night!_

He collapsed onto the ground of his lair in despair and confusion.

Why didn't that kiss mean more to him? Why didn't he feel _something _when her lips touched his own?

Once more, his mind went back to Elaina.

He knew the reason.

He had felt his love for Christine slipping away each day and being replaced with love for another. He had denied it, desiring to be true to the woman he had loved for years. But he couldn't say that he felt the same way for Christine now as he did when he first brought her down here what seemed like a lifetime ago.

And Elaina…

What did she feel?

The voices of the mob coming after him rang out across the labyrinth. He had to get away from them. He had to get out of the lair.

But Elaina…where was she? What if she was in trouble?

Something didn't feel right. He needed to find her. He didn't care if she was gone or if she had decided to leave the Populaire. He just needed to know that she was safe.

After grabbing one of his masks in order to guard Elaina from the horror he was if he found her, he made his way through the passages and away from the mob.


	13. Confessions

Elaina found the source of the crying to be a little girl covered in ashes trembling under a chair that hadn't been crushed by the falling chandelier nor consumed by the fire.

"Hey, sweetheart, where are your parents?" Elaina asked calmly despite her heart racing as the fire grew hotter around them.

The girl just shook her head and continued sobbing.

"Come here."

The little girl slowly came out from under the chair into Elaina's arms. She held her protectively to her chest. This felt so similar to her nightmares when she held the young Erik close to her in an attempt to shield him from the gypsies' abusive hands. She just hoped this very real moment didn't turn out the way her nightmares always had.

She started towards the back entrance to the theater, but the fire blocked her way.

"It's going to be okay," she said to the girl. "I'm going to get you out. We're going to find your mother and father."

She went back up on the stage to get to the wings where the fire had not yet reached.

Suddenly, the little girl let out a frightened scream. Elaina turned just in time to see a huge portion of the set falling in her direction.

She quickly pushed the girl out of harm's way as it crashed down onto her.

The ballet girl from before ran up to her and tried to lift the set piece off her.

"Don't worry about me!" Elaina said firmly. "Get the girl and find her parents!"

The girl looked at her with surprised concern. "But…you might die."

"I'll be fine! Now go!"

She reluctantly picked up the little girl and ran offstage towards the exit.

Elaina managed to free herself from the set piece but not before her mind started going foggy from inhaling too much smoke.

Lacking all the strength to stand, she tried to crawl away from the stage towards the left wing where she hoped she would be able to breathe.

She started coughing violently from the smoke constantly entering her lungs.

With one last hope she cried weakly, "Erik!"

She didn't know where he was or if he would be able to hear her desperate cries for help. Despite him knowing everything that went on in the Opera House, he was most likely all the way down in his lair with Christine not giving her a second thought.

But he was her only chance.

She coughed more before weakly crying out, "Erik!"

* * *

Erik scoured the burning remains of the Opera House looking for Elaina. He didn't understand why he was trying to find her.

He had told her he wanted her to leave, that she belonged up here rather than down below cut off from the world like him.

And any sane person would've escaped the moment the fire started.

As he entered the stage from the right wing, the thick smoke stung his eyes and burned his throat.

Surely Elaina wouldn't be here, would she? She would die within minutes if she was breathing in the acrid smoke wafting in the air.

He was just about to turn away when he heard very faint cries.

It…sounded like someone was saying his name.

He had never told anyone his name…except Elaina. Terrified that she was trapped or worse, he covered his mouth with his sleeve and walked further onto the stage searching for the source of the voice.

He nearly missed her, but there was Elaina collapsed onto the ground. Her costume was ripped and singed in several places and black ash streaks marred her white skin.

Erik quickly knelt down next to her and took her head in his hands. "Elaina!"

Her eyes slowly fluttered open. "Help me," she whispered.

"I'm here."

Ever so gently, he picked her up off the stage into his arms. She put her hands around his neck and rested her head against his shoulder, reminding him of when he'd carried her when she had fallen ill.

At some point in the walk, he could tell she succumbed to unconsciousness but she was still breathing. He pulled her closer to him protectively as if she would remain alive so long as she was inside his arms.

Having nowhere else to go, he headed in the direction of his lair, hoping that the mob had left the place clear when they found no trace of him.

If they were still there, he could easily stay in the tunnels until they'd gone. It wouldn't be the best option, but it was the only thing he could do at the moment.

Fortunately, when he arrived at his home, the place had been completely trashed but it was devoid of people.

He was sure the police would return in search of him, and he wouldn't be able to stay for long. He just needed to be sure that Elaina was okay. Then he could disappear.

He gently placed her down in the swan bed, pulling the blanket over her frail body. She still looked…so beautiful, despite the unfortunate circumstances.

Tenderly, he began to stroke her face and let his fingers run through her long brown curls. Then he found himself singing to her softly:

_Nighttime sharpens,_

_Heightens each sensation._

_Darkness stirs and wakes imagination_

_Silently the senses_

_Abandon their defenses._

He remembered singing this song to Christine after he had first brought her down to the lair. She had always been his music of the night ever since the moment he'd first laid eyes on her. And he had been sure that she would be the only one who could be his music for as long as he lived.

But now…was it possible that Elaina was his music?

It would explain why he'd constantly thought about her for the last several hours when he was supposed to be focusing on Christine.

Elaina was different from Christine in many ways. She was nearly ten years older which brought about more wisdom and maturity. She had seen her share of ugliness in the world and experienced difficult times which had made her into the person before him.

The beautiful and confident person he knew her to be. The only one who truly understood him.

But…she'd seen his face.

When he thought back on everything that happened, he realized that his first thoughts were not on what the audience was thinking or about how Christine had betrayed him yet again.

His first thought had been that Elaina had seen him unmasked.

The one thing that he'd managed to keep from her the entire time he'd known her was revealed. His chances with Christine had been ruined the second she had seen his face, and he knew it would hurt that much more for Elaina to have the same reaction.

She must be terrified of him now.

She had to be.

She'd seen him.

But then…why had she called his name for help when she was trapped by the smoke?

Erik shook his head. It had to be because she was scared and desperate. It was not possible for someone as beautiful and perfect as her to ever have feelings for someone like him. If he was not worthy of Christine, he could never be worthy of Elaina.

Erik quietly finished his song and left her to her dreams.

* * *

Elaina slowly woke up and coughed a little, her lungs still expelling the smoke they had unintentionally inhaled. Unaware of her surroundings at first, she soon noticed that she was in the swan bed back in the lair.

She could just barely remember Erik finding her and carrying her away from the fire with a gentleness one would not expect from the Opera Ghost.

When she turned her head, she saw a glass of water sitting on the small table next to the bed. She picked it up and eagerly drank the liquid, letting it cool her scratchy throat.

Once she had composed herself, she slowly went out to the lair and found Erik seated at the organ.

"Erik?" she said softly. "What happened with Christine?"

Erik didn't say anything for a long time and she wondered if he had even heard her. Finally, he spoke, "I had to let her go. She was never going to love me."

Elaina remained silent. She wasn't sure what to say to comfort that kind of pain even if she had known all along that it was next to impossible for Christine to have feelings for him.

"I'm such a fool," he continued, putting his head in his hands. "Who could ever love a monster such as this?"

"Me!" Elaina blurted, the word leaving her lips before she could stop it.

Erik whipped his head around to look at her, surprise in his green eyes.

She'd already said it, so she may as well say the rest of it. "I love you, Erik."

Erik slowly got up from the organ and came over to her, towering over her as much as ever yet not in such a menacing way.

"How long?" he simply asked.

"Since the Masquerade Ball," she admitted.

Erik was stunned. She'd loved him for that long?

Elaina felt ridiculous. Here she was confessing her love for a man she was definitely not supposed to love, someone who only had eyes for one woman and kidnapped her because of that love.

"And yet…you still hoped that I would be able to win over Christine?"

"I wanted you to be happy. Even if it meant you weren't with me."

Erik felt as if he couldn't breathe. In all his years of living, no one, much less a woman, had _ever _put his happiness above their own.

Erik had done so much for Christine over the years. He had given her voice lessons and comforted her when she became saddened about her father's death. Later on as he realized his supposed love for her, he had convinced himself that all of his actions, even the obsessive and cruel ones, were justified because they were all for her.

In return, she'd rejected him and betrayed him. But he would never be able to hate her for the same reason Elaina could not hate her own mother who had neglected to offer her any affection.

And the entire time he was focused on trying to earn Christine's affections, Elaina put aside her own desires so that Erik could have a chance at being happy with the woman he thought he loved.

But she had been right. What he felt for Christine had not been love.

Elaina looked down in embarrassment, not wanting to meet Erik's eyes.

So she was quite surprised when she felt Erik gently take her chin in his hand to lightly force her head upward.

Then she felt his lips on hers much to her shock. She allowed herself to melt into the kiss with him, only pulling away when she absolutely had to.

Everything that Erik had dreamed of feeling during his kiss with Christine he felt as he kissed Elaina.

He looked at her deeply when they parted. "My dear Elaina, I love you too."

Elaina's eyes darkened. "But what about Christine?"

"It's…been a long time since I've felt what I used to feel for Christine. I'm not even sure what I felt for her anymore. All this time, as much as I tried to hang onto my feelings since they were one of the few things in my life that made sense…I've found myself falling for you more and more every day." He gently touched her cheek. "You once told me that love is that the other person's safety and happiness is always most important to you. It's…why I told you to stay at the Populaire. I thought you would be happier up there rather than down here with me. And for the last twelve hours, my thoughts have been centered around you, wondering and hoping you were okay after the fire started. Even when Christine was right beside me, all I could think about was you."

"So…you really did come looking for me?"

"I had to. You were right before. I only thought I was in love with Christine. If I was really in love with her, I would've left her alone after that night on the roof when I heard how happy she was with the boy. I wouldn't have brought here down here last night by force and tried to make her stay with me. I couldn't love her…because the one I love is you. Please…forgive me for being so blind to what was right in front of me."

Elaina could feel tears of joy in her eyes at his heartfelt confession. She slowly reached up and touched his mask.

Erik's hand quickly caught it and clutched onto it tightly.

Elaina said nothing as she met eyes with him, silently telling him that it was okay for him to show her what he kept hidden from the world.

He slowly removed his hand from hers and she ever so gently removed the mask from his face.

"You can love this monster?" he asked quietly.

Elaina set his mask down and caressed the deformed side of his face. "I love you," she repeated. "I love every part of you. You told me I belonged up at the Populaire, but you were wrong. I belong wherever you are."

She kissed him passionately as she felt Erik's hands grip her back, tightly pulling her close to him.

All her life, Elaina felt as if everything she wanted was ripped away from her, from her mother's love to her mentor when she worked as a servant to the chance at being a lead to her entire life upon being taken down here.

But for the first time, she had gained something that was hers and hers alone.

For the first time, life was fair.

She never would've guessed that she would be in this position after the first night she had come in contact with Erik. But now he was all she could ever want. She would give up anything if it meant she could be with him for the rest of her life.

When they broke for air, Elaina looked deep into Erik's eyes and saw that all the anger she had seen before was now gone.

Now they were filled with a deep longing for love.

The love that she gave him now.

The love he never got from Christine. The love that Christine could never give him because her heart belonged to another.

But Elaina's heart belonged solely to Erik.

For he was not a monster or a ghost but a man.

A man who just wanted someone to look behind the monster he had always believed himself to be.

And now, he had finally found what he had truly always wanted.

* * *

**Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to read this, especially everyone who read the first draft. It was so much fun for me to expand on Erik and Elaina's relationship and show them growing to love one another. I hope you all have enjoyed reading my little contribution to the Phandom :)**


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